Change Me
by dArkAnge04
Summary: Rukia has had her heart broken, witnessed murder and been through living hell. Ichigo has had his life changed and now wants to change himself. When they meet, will they smoothly sail to happiness or will their pasts haunt them. A/U. R&R
1. How to Save a Life

**Change Me**

Summary: Rukia has had her heart broken, witnessed murder and been through living hell. Ichigo has had his life changed and now wants to change himself. When they meet, will they smoothly sail to happiness or will their pasts haunt them. A/U. They don't have powers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the fantastic characters. But I will give Kubo my tiny piggy bank for them if he wants!

Warning: There is some violence and a tad bit of cursing. Also, there is no Ichigo in this chapter. However I promise he will be in the next one so please please read!

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

Rukia's tear streaked face was pressed against the hard ground where all she saw was red liquid. She always hated blood, it made her sick to her stomach but in this moment she just looked at it with tranquility. She felt pain and she knew her life was ending soon. _How did it end up like this?_

Rukia moved her head slightly to see her comrade lying next to her, already dead. A fresh tear slipped down her face as she remembered everything that had happened, everything he had been to her. She thought again, _How did it end up like this?_

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><p>Rukia had been an orphan since she could remember. She was found alone by social workers in a tiny apartment she supposedly lived in with her family, crying. She had apparently been saved from her drug addict parents who hardly cared for her well-being. The day she had been found, they had been driving to get their next fix and had died in a car crash. Rukia didn't remember their family name. For as long as she could remember, the only part of her name that stuck was Rukia. She got sent from different foster homes over the years because she had no relatives to live with. She had different "families" and different last names with each. In the end, she was always Rukia. She saved up money to make sure that when she was 18, she could leave the system and become independent and start her life. She saved all the money she got as allowance and tried working to scrape some more. She had a plan and she gave it her everything to get there. Until that one day…<p>

Rukia had been walking along a chain linked fence, running her hands along it as she hummed a tune she had heard.

_She had just yelled at her new foster mom for being too pushy and run out of the house. I will be out of here soon, just bear with it, she thought to herself. She had run for a miles before reaching a park. Whenever she needed to clear her head, no matter which city, she would find a park and swing as high as she could. It was the only way she would calm down. She sat in the park and swung high, staring up at the blue sky as she did. She felt like the whole world disappeared as she went higher and higher. She wished she could fly, be above the world and never care about those underneath her. _I bet it would be awesome to be an angel…or even a bird!_ Rukia had calmed down after half an hour and decided to go back. She unfortunately forgot where her new home was. She decided to try to trace back her steps as best she could but she could hardly remember which way she had turned when she had tears in her eyes. The 15 year old started walking away from the park, hoping she was going in the right direction. She came to the chain linked fence which reminded her of a song she had heard this morning. She started humming it as she walked along the fence_.

She got to the end of the fence and looked around her. She definitely did not recognize a single building in her surroundings. She kept walking, hoping she could run into someone who might know where she was. Rukia had never been afraid and she told herself she wasn't going to start now. She started to walk past a dark alley where she saw a man with brown hair holding a gun to a woman's head. Near the woman's feet lay a man, a pool of blood under him. _Oh god, I need to get out of here._ She wanted to leave but her feet felt like cement blocks. The man turned his head towards her and smiled before he pulled the trigger. The woman in front of him crumpled to the ground. Her blood splattered on the wall near them. Rukia wanted to scream but her fear kept her quiet. _I am just a kid, maybe he will spare me. Please spare me, _her mind screamed at the man. However, no words came out of her mouth. The man started towards her and at that moment Rukia decided she would risk moving and started to run. She ran into something hard and fell to the ground. She looked up and saw a man with dreadlocks and sunglasses standing above her. She felt trapped, knowing the other man would close in on her soon and this one was blocking her way. She was small and frail and knew she probably couldn't outrun him. She thought, even if she could outrun him, she wasn't faster than a bullet. The brown haired man placed his hand on her shoulder and she spun around, staring him straight in the eye. _Don't show weakness Rukia. They prey on weakness. _The man smiled at her. At first, she felt at ease by his smile, it looked so kind and warm. But then when she looked at his eyes more closely, she saw the devilish qualities to that deceiving smile.

"Now why would you try to run away from us? We haven't even gotten to know each other!" The man said in an eerily calm voice. "My name is Sosuke Aizen and this here is my friend, Kaname Tosen. You are?"

Rukia just stared at him, speechless. She could almost not imagine this man, who spoke with a kind voice would kill anyone. Almost. If she hadn't seen it happen in front of her eyes.

"A shy one isn't she Kaname? We are not going to hurt you little girl, just want to know your name."

Rukia slowly choked out her name in a low voice. It was barely louder than a whisper.

"My name is Rukia." She held eye contact with him showing that she could be strong even though she was shaking on the inside.

"Well that certainly is a beautiful name. What are you doing in these parts Rukia? You seem like you aren't from here." He spoke to her with a smile that made her want to believe that she would get out of here alive.

"I'm not. I got lost." She spoke with her voice starting to tremble. "Please Mr. Aizen. I just want to go home. Can you please let me go home?"

His smile faded a little.

"Rukia, I would love to send you home. Under any other circumstance, I would have. But you have seen too much. You could go to the police and then what would happen to me? I am so sorry my dear, but I can't let you go like this."

Rukia was paralyzed by what he had just said. _I can't leave! He is going to kill me._ This realization made tears form in her eyes. _I am never going to become anything. I am going to die an orphan with nothing to my name. I will never get to leave the system and become anything. I am going to die right here. _Tears were now streaking her face as she tried to form a coherent sentence.

"Please Mr. Aizen, please spare me. I wont go to the police. I promise. I don't want to die. I just wanted to leave the foster care system not leave the world forever. Please!"

She kept sobbing the word 'please' over and over again. Her knees buckled and she felt to the floor sobbing uncontrollably.

Aizen's smile had completely vanished. "Kaname, what should we do with her? She _is_ just a little girl. But we can't just let her go back to wherever she came from."

The dark skinned man seemed to ponder for a minute before he spoke to Aizen. "She could work for us. Not on the actual work. She would die if she did those. But since we lost the last maid to that "accident", we could use another one." He finished the statement with finality in his voice.

Aizen thought over the proposition before deciding. "That's not a bad idea at all. Rukia my dear, please get off the floor. You have a new home now!" he said with a smile. "One that you will never leave again."

With that he grabbed her arm and pulled her up, dragging her with him as he walked towards a black car parked a few feet away from them.

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><p>Rukia had been a maid for the past 6 months. She cleaned, washed the dishes, did laundry. All the chores she hated doing. Now however, she appreciated the chores she used to do. <em>At least they were chores that were just for me, rather than for all these people. <em>While she was thinking about the not too distant past, a sweatshirt flew at her face, bringing her focus back to the laundry she was picking up.

"Pay attention idiot! I was saying, there are more clothes in that corner." The tall man, whom the rest called Nnoitora, yelled condescendingly. "I don't know why Aizen hires such airheads and morons to do work around here." He muttered as he was about to walk out.

"He hires people because lazy slobs like you wont do anything around here. Someone has to pick up after you after all." A low monotone voice mocked Nnoitora. Rukia didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Ulquiorra Schiffer, Aizen's most loyal follower. Rukia turned to see his large green eyes focused on her. She shifted uncomfortably in place before turning back around to pick up the rest of the clothes. Ulquiorra's eyes always freaked her out. She always felt like he could read her perfectly and see into her soul. Since she came here, all she wanted was to be left alone and stay hidden from them. He was the only one there who had not been treating her poorly but she couldn't help but to be afraid of him. He hardly said two words to her, but then again, he hardly said anything to anyone.

She didn't like anyone at this place they called Hueco Mundo. She felt so out of place among all these rugged men (and one woman) who were so obviously doing something wrong. She never really got told what they did but she pieced a few things together. She got that Aizen was the leader of this gang of thugs. She knew they killed people among other crimes.

"Whatever Ulquiorra. It's not my job to pick up after myself. I'm getting paid for what I am good at. I shouldn't have to deal with trash Aizen brings in." Rukia had started to lose focus again but Nnoitora's harsh voice brought her back to the current scene. Ulquiorra simply made a noise of disapproval before he left. Nnoitora turned back to Rukia.

"Make sure you get all the clothes on the floor. If even one of them is missed, you will regret it." With that, he took two long strides and was out of the room, leaving Rukia shaking. Nnoitora didn't seem too strong since he was extremely skinny but he scared her a lot. He always gave her a really hard time by yelling at her about everything. He had even gone as far as to hit her a couple of times. But these seemed minor compared to other reasons she was truly afraid of him.

Each member of the group, the Espada, had to brand themselves to show their loyalty to Aizen. They each were assigned a number in order of importance by Aizen himself and they tattooed it on themselves. Nnoitora had gone as far as to tattoo himself on his tongue and this made Rukia wonder about his sanity. When Rukia was brought in, they had left her alone at first but then everyone started to question her loyalty. Rukia had no intention of being loyal, she just wanted to live. In the midst of this questioning, Nnoitora took a hot iron and branded her. Since that day, she became quieter and was nervous being around him.

Once Nnoitora left, she checked his room again to make sure she had everything, she walked out only to run into someone. She looked up to see a man with spiky black hair and sad eyes looking right at her. She had dropped some of the clothes in her hand from the impact of the bump. They both bent down and starting picking up the clothes. Once they had picked them up, he handed her the clothes he had before walking past her. _No one smiles around here._

That night at dinner, she saw him sitting with the Espada again. As she served the food, she couldn't help but look at him. She noted that he looked nothing like the others. His face looked kind which was quite unlike the menacing looks the others had. _You also thought Aizen had a kind face Rukia_, she mentally chided herself. Aizen, who sat at the head of the table pointed to the man.

"This is Kaien Shiba. He is going to be working for us from now on. Aren't you?" Aizen smiled warmly at him.

"Do not call me by my name. You are all scum here. I am simply here for Miyako." Kaien spit the words out shooting a glare at Aizen. He then pushed his plate away and walked out of the room.

"Well, if he doesn't want me to call him by his name, what should I call him by? Such a bratty child isn't he Gin?" Aizen chuckled a little as he addressed his right hand man.

"Quite bratty. He can't starve forever. He will eventually get over this phase. As for his name, why not Aaroniero? I read it in some magazine today." The fox faced man grinned wider knowing the newcomer would hate the name. Gin had always liked to play mind games with people.

"Aaroniero. Interesting. I think that should be his name. Good thinking Gin." With that Aizen started to eat and the others followed. Conversation among the Espada was very limited. They never spoke much to each other unless someone had a new job to do.

That night as Rukia started packing up leftovers she remembered that the new guy hadn't eaten anything. _Not new guy. Kaien._ She made sure to remember his name. She thought of him as another victim of Aizen's cruelty. _Maybe I can be his friend._ The thought was fleeting but it definitely crossed her mind. She just shook her head and took some leftovers to his room. She knocked on it and within the first few knocks he opened the door quickly.

"What?" He asked her sharply, his eyebrows furrowed. He looked at the food in her hands. "I'm not hungry. Leave me alone." With that, he went to close his door.

Rukia found a random burst of courage and started speaking. "I know this sucks but I am also stuck here. I just wanted to give you some food. You don't have to speak to me, I just didn't want you to die of starvation."

He gave her a quizzical look. After a few minutes he sighed and the features on his face became more relaxed. "Fine." He walked towards his bed, leaving the door open for her. She walked in and placed the food in front of him on the table. He looked at the food suspiciously before looking at her.

"What's your story? You don't seem like the others." His voice was still harsh but the anger behind it was gone.

"My name is Rukia…" With that, she told him about her life. She didn't understand why she was so comfortable talking to him but she just wanted to tell him everything. She was so glad that soon enough he started to eat the food next to him.

"So that's why I am here. I keep telling myself it is a fate better than death but I still haven't believed it." Rukia ended her story, her eyes now sad remembering everything that happened to her. Kaien noticed this change in expression. He walked over to her and put his arms around her, engulfing her in a warm hug. Rukia immediately stiffened when she felt his touch but slowly melted into it. _I think we can be friends_. Kaien let out a deep sigh.

"I am here because of Miyako. She was the love of my life. We had been together for 3 years and I proposed to her last week. Her father got involved with some idiots who ended up hiring Aizen to do their dirty work. I was at their house when they killed her father. They were going to kill us both but I fought off two of his men. Aizen was apparently impressed with my fighting or something so he made me a deal. He said if I worked for him, he would let Miyako live. I didn't think twice. I just agreed and left Miyako standing there. I may not ever see her again but at least she is safe." He was clutching her even tighter as he told her how he ended up there. A tear was running down his cheek. Rukia couldn't help but tear up herself. _That's the saddest story I have ever heard. I hope he sees her again._ She made up her mind right then that she would do whatever she could to make his life better in Hueco Mundo. As best she could.

Kaien suddenly unwrapped his arms and walked back to his bed and sat down, staring at her. They spend the next few hours sitting there quietly, with the occasional question like 'How old are you' or 'Have you lived in Kyoto all your life', etc. Eventually, Rukia noticed that it was late and she needed to clear the entire kitchen before she went to bed. She stood and told him she had to finish her work and go to bed. He nodded and told her a quiet bye.

"By the way, everyone is going to start calling you Aaroniero from now on. Just a forewarning." Rukia said with a smile before she left his room. The small smile on her face never wavered that night.

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><p>Kaien and Rukia became really good friends, telling each other everything and always having each others' backs. He would help her with chores and she would help him train. Rukia knew that Kaien still loved Miyako, even after a year and a half of him being under Aizen's rule but she started having a crush on him. She knew she would never have him because he would always belong to Miyako but she let that crush grow inside her. They would always talk about how they would get out of this hell hole and how he would introduce her to Miyako. He would talk about how she would definitely be in their wedding and how they would stay friends forever. They both knew it was just wishful thinking but they didn't want to tell the other that they doubted that they would ever escape.<p>

It was an impossible feat. Only one person technically escaped Aizen's grasp. He had left following a girl but still worked for Aizen. He had sworn his allegiance to Aizen and since he had lived with him all his life, Aizen trusted him enough to let him leave Hueco Mundo. Anyone else that betrayed Aizen or tried to escape had been killed mercilessly. They both knew this but they still wished they could get out of there. No one went on missions unless there were more than two of them present at all times. Aizen usually accompanied those he didn't trust completely. This definitely included Kaien, or Aaroniero, as they all called him, much to his chagrin.

They both were happy with the bubble they had around themselves. However, this "perfect" world they both constructed quickly collapsed one day. When Kaien went on a mission with Aizen and Ulquiorra he recognized the place as being a block away from Miyako's residence. In the commotion that came along with killing the store owner they were sent to "take care of", Kaien escaped and ran to Miyako's place. He knocked several times before a black haired woman opened the door.

"Can I help you?"

"I am looking for Miyako? Does she not live here anymore? She must've been the previous owner." Kaien, still catching his breath, asked anxiously.

"How do you know Miyako?" She now had a curious look on her face. She looked at Kaien suspiciously

"I am…was her fiance. Kaien Shiba."

"Oh honey." Her face immediately fell and her eyes started to tear up. "I am Miyako's aunt. Her father and her were killed a year and a half ago. I'm sorry you didn't know this." She was now crying.

Kaien froze when he heard that she had been murdered. He had sold his soul for her life and she had been murdered anyways. He didn't know what to do anymore. He was only able to get through his life because he hoped he would always have Miyako if he ever got out. Now that he knew she was dead, he felt like a part of him had died too. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder.

"There you are. Aizen-sama is looking for you. Let's go." Ulquiorra spoke in a monotone voice. He pushed Kaien away from Miyako's old place, leaving her aunt confused. Once they got outside, Kaien decided to ask.

"You killed her anyway. I came with you people and you killed her anyway." Kaien whispered as a tear ran down his face.

"It was nothing personal. We never do a job wrong. We were told to get rid of them both. We just did our job." Ulquiorra's indifference angered Kaien.

But he did nothing. When he saw Aizen, he still did nothing. He just stood in place.

"There you are! We thought you tried to run away. Let's go back." Aizen started to lead them towards the car. Kaien silently followed and sat in the car. He stayed quiet through the ride and when they arrived, he just walked to his room.

Rukia had never seen Kaien look so emotionless. She followed him to his room. She saw him sitting on his bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. She walked up and knelt in front of him.

"Kaien, what's wrong?" She whispered softly. It seemed like hours before he finally spoke to her.

"They killed her the same day. She has been dead the whole time." His voice broke a little. "Rukia, we are not staying here anymore. We are leaving tonight. We cannot stay here with these monsters." He spoke with an unbreakable resolve that scared Rukia a little. She didn't know what to do. She really liked Kaien, she thought she might even love him and here he was saying he would take her with him. She just nodded mutely and whispered 'Tonight' back to him.

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><p>That night they both left through the back doors around 1AM when they were sure everyone was asleep. They stayed quiet the whole time. Kaien told her that as long as they got out of Kyoto, they wont be able to track them. She believed him completely and followed wordlessly as he held her hand and dragged her along. They had made it three blocks before they both finally felt a little relieved to be a away from Hueco Mundo and she felt safe with Kaien. <em>We made it. We are free<em>. Just as she thought that she heard a gunshot near them. Kaien and her, both froze.

"Did you really believe you would make it out of there alive?" They heard Aizen's voice, with a little malice laced in his words. "I understand your motivation Aaroniero but you Rukia? I let you live. I obviously was too soft on you."

_You were hardly ever soft on me_. Rukia thought sadly.

They both turned their heads to see Aizen standing with the gun in his hand and his men standing behind him.

"Well it is truly disappointing that you both decided to betray me. But you both were loyal for a little while. So don't worry. I will make this quick. I won't miss next time."

Rukia was shaking as she held Kaien's hand. However, this time she was not going to beg. _It was actually a fate worse than death, not better. _She realized she would rather die here with Kaien than do anything else.

"I am not scared. You are a sick bastard and I don't care what you do. You took everything from me anyway." Kaien spit at Aizen.

"I guess I am doing you are service then aren't I?" Aizen smiled and pulled the trigger. He shot Kaien straight at his heart. Rukia screamed.

"Oh my god Kaien don't die please!" She started to cry hysterically when she heard another gun shot. Then she felt pain. Aizen hadn't stopped for Kaien. He just went ahead and shot Rukia. She dropped near Kaien. She felt pain near her shoulder but she couldn't locate where exactly she had been shot.

Kaien felt his life leaving him when he saw Rukia drop near him. He dragged her into this and now she was going to die because of him.

"Rukia…" He started. That was all he could say before he took his last breath.

Rukia closed her eyes and cried because she knew Kaien wasn't with her anymore. _How did it end up like this_. She continued to ask herself. The pain, the blood, and Kaien were all she kept thinking about. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her temple before she heard someone bark orders at another. She then felt herself being lifted. She saw Kaien still laying there on the cold road, laying dead. _Kaien, I'm sorry. I love you._ With that Rukia closed her eyes and lost herself in darkness.

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><p>AN: Phew! I had to get some serious back story going here. Just an idea that popped in my head. Pretty please read and review. I am open to suggestions and ideas.


	2. Start From Scratch

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Warnings: There may be one curse word. Your probably wont even notice it.

Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and story alerts everyone :)

Note: Italics with lots of of text is a flashback, and if the text is in normal font, italics is to signify thoughts. If there is a better way for me to show this please let me know.

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><p><strong>Start From Scratch<strong>

Rukia quietly ate breakfast as she sat across the somber man. She looked up to see him intently reading the newspaper in his hands, paying almost no attention to the numerous food options available to him. She owed her life and everything she had to this man even though she felt it was a life she didn't deserve.

Kuchiki Byakuya. That was the name this man that now had her in his home. It was the same man that had found her dying on the streets of Kyoto. The same man that rushed her to the hospital allowing her to live. The same man who had decided that she should live with him in Karakura. And now, he was the man that she was to call brother since he adopted her as his own little sister. She didn't understand why he would do all this for a dying orphan, but he did and for that she was grateful.

Byakuya was the head of the Kuchiki corporation, which was by far the most successful and most powerful company in Japan. Of course, being the head of a company like that meant he was also one of the richest men in Japan. Almost anyone who had a TV or read the news knew about him. Everyone, except those who had been kept in a secret cult organization by crazy murderers.

When Rukia met him, she looked at him in awe. He had exuded an aura of power and royalty even when she didn't know who he was. He was a man who spoke very few words and kept to himself for the most part. She remembered them having their first, extremely awkward conversation in the hospital.

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><p><em>Rukia opened her eyes to see white everywhere. She didn't feel anything. <em>You are probably drugged up Rukia…or in Heaven._ She looked around her and saw a man with long black hair sleeping in an uncomfortable looking chair. A nurse came in right then, reading her charts._

"_Oh, you are awake!" She exclaimed when she saw Rukia. _

_The loud voice startled the man awake. He looked at Rukia with slightly widened eyes before he went back to a somber look. Rukia and him stared at each other for a little while as the nurse administered more pain killers and checked Rukia's injury. Once the nurse left her, he decided to speak._

"_How are you feeling?"_

"_Fine." Rukia rasped slowly. Her throat felt dry when she spoke. He noticed this and took the cup of water next to him and brought the straw to her lips. She took slow sips until her throat felt better. _

"_Is that better?" He asked her slowly. She just nodded mutely._

"_You are probably wondering who I am aren't you? I am Kuchiki Byakuya. I found you and brought you here. I didn't know your name or anything about you so I just gave them the Kuchiki name. I hope you don't mind." _

_Rukia shook her head no. She smiled weakly at the man to show her gratitude for his actions. Then she remembered the last thing she had thought of when she thought she was going to die. _

"_Kaien? Did he really die?" She asked tentatively even thought she felt like knew the answer already._

"_Was that the black haired man that was also shot?" She nodded quietly. "I am sorry. He was dead when I got there."_

_Rukia knew this already but her heart still stopped a little when she heard the confirmation. Kaien had been the first friend she in her life. He was also her first love, even if it was unrequited. And he was killed right in front of her eyes. She wanted to cry again. Her eyes started to fog up. Byakuya continued speaking to her._

"_May I know who you are? I am not going to make you tell me why you were in such a situation but I would like to at least know who you are."_

_Rukia's voice broke when she spoke. "I am Rukia. Just Rukia. I have been an orphan all my life so I have no one you need to call." She sniffled a little before willing herself to stop the impending tears. _

"_Well it's a pleasure to meet you Rukia. Anyway, if you have nowhere to go, would you mind if I got you to stay with me in Karakura, till you are better? I wouldn't feel right about you staying here alone with nobody."_

_Rukia was surprised by his offer. She felt grateful for it but she didn't feel right about taking him up on it. She already felt wrong about having her life when Kaien had lost his. _

"_Thank you but you don't have to do that. I have been alone this long. I can manage."_

"_Do you have any money? Because there is nothing in any of your clothes. Do you have a place to stay after you get better?" His voice stayed monotone as he spoke to her. It reminded her of the tone in which Ulquiorra spoke to people. She pushed thoughts of those people from her mind._

"_Um…no I don't have anything but…" She felt embarrassed saying it. She didn't want to be a burden on him. _

"_Ok then, it is settled. You will come back with me. I have to be back in Karakura tonight so I need to go talk to the doctor about getting you clearance to come back tonight."_

_Rukia wanted to say something but his forceful tone made her clamp up. She told herself that she couldn't do anything yet anyway. _I can leave once I am better_._

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_Rukia was shocked when they ended up loading her into a private jet with some of the staff "voluntarily" deciding to make the trip with them to make sure she was alright. _He must be a really rich man._ The whole trip was silent as Byakuya stayed on his laptop doing some work and Rukia had nothing to say._

_She kept thinking about Kaien and his last word. _He called for me, not Miyako…But then again, I was the one in front of him so that's probably why._ She wished he had called her name because he felt something for her too. _That's selfish Rukia. The man lost his life. This is not what you should be thinking about_. She decided to shake off thoughts of Kaien for a little while. She knew he wasn't coming back so she needed to find a way to get past his death. _

_She looked back at Byakuya. _He probably never smiles. Not like Kaien used to at least._ Rukia mentally cursed herself for thinking of the man who stole her heart again. She decided she should try to make conversation with her savior at least. _

"_Ano…thank you for everything…" She started slowly. _How do you thank someone who has done so much? _she thought sadly._

_Byakuya looked up at her and just nodded. He kept quiet for a little while before he decided to talk to her._

"_Are you planning on running once you get better?"_

_He shocked her by figuring her out so correctly. Rukia looked at him sadly and then looked away from him. _

"_Well I would really appreciate if you would at least give that a second thought." With that he went back to his work._

_Rukia still didn't understand why he would want to keep her around. She obviously knew he was someone rich and powerful and she had always seen herself as a burden. She couldn't understand why he would put himself through this. _

"_Why are you helping me? I have done nothing for you to be this kind to me." She timidly asked._

_He looked up from his laptop and cocked his head slightly. "You remind me of someone. Someone very important to me. She was my world and one day she was gone. Anything that reminds me of her can't be bad." Rukia just looked at him dumbfounded. _

"_I know I am doing this for my own selfish reasons but could you stay, so that I feel like a piece of her still remains?"_

_Rukia knew he was making it seem like he was doing it for himself but she still owed him her life. She knew she couldn't refuse a man who had given her everything. _Well, almost everything_. She thought bitterly. She then remembered how Kaien had convinced her to come with her that night. _

"_As long as we get out of Kyoto, they wont be able to track us"_

If I am in Karakura, they won't be able to find me. I will be safe._ She decided that it was probably for the best._

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><p>Rukia had been twirling the spoon around in her cereal for some time now. She wasn't particularly hungry but Byakuya had insisted she be ready for such an important day with a full stomach.<p>

"Are you planning on eating? You are going to be hungry before lunchtime." Byakuya had taken notice of Rukia's lack of eating and decided to intervene. "And hurry up, you are going to be late for your first day."

Rukia quickly started to finish her cereal. She wasn't necessarily scared of him but she didn't want to disappoint him in any way.

When she was done, she excused herself to get ready. _Today is a big day Rukia._ She thought back to how her life came to this day 3 months ago.

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"_Do you have any objections with starting school next year?" They were eating dinner when Byakuya suddenly decided to ask the question. _

_She had been going through the recovery process for the past three weeks and she could now function practically normally. Her shoulder still hurt from time to time but she would never complain aloud about it. _

_Rukia was worried about the thought of going to school. She had been in a school system till she was forced to live in Hueco Mundo but those two years put her really behind and she had forgotten everything she learned before. _

"_I haven't been to school in two years. I wouldn't know where to begin." She wondered if she had stayed in school where she would be now. _Well I am seventeen, and I finished my first year of high school. I guess I would be a senior now._ This made her even more apprehensive about going back. _

"_If you are willing, I can make sure you are caught up with everything over the summer and you can resume the pace you should be on. It will be difficult but I will put in the time and money if you will put in the effort."_

_She knew he wasn't necessarily asking but rather just saying that was what he planned on doing. She nodded slightly which he took as affirmation and continued._

"_It is fine if you don't end up back on pace. I just think you need some interaction with students your age. If or when you decide to go to college, you don't want to be startled by such a lack of interaction with other people."_

_Again she nodded. _I am going back to high school. _She groaned inwardly. _

"_I have another proposition for you." Byakuya continued._

_Rukia was surprised by how much they had spoken to each other in the past few minutes. Usually it was impossible to have more than a couple of sentences of conversation. _

"_Yes sir?" She had taken to calling him sir because that was what all the house maids called him. She didn't feel any better than them and she didn't want him to feel that she was, even though it was blatantly obvious that he did. _

"_I told you to stop calling me that." _

"_Sorry s.. Sorry." She looked down at her food. _

"_If you are going to be starting school, they are going to ask of my relationship with you. I am ok with me just being your guardian if that is what you would prefer however I would much rather just adopt you as my sister. Do you have any opposition to that?"_

_Rukia was shocked by this. _His sister!_ She had learned a lot about Byakuya and his family in her three weeks that she had been there from the house maids. He was not only the head of the Kuchiki corporation, but he also was part of an old noble family. While most didn't really care about nobility anymore, his family still stuck to old rules and traditions. She had no family history, and no background. Adopting her as a Kuchiki would probably be frowned upon by the rest of them. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time he had broken Kuchiki rules. _

_The maids had told her about Kuchiki Hisana, Byakuya's wife. It was through them that she found out that she reminded him of his late wife. She had been told that Hisana was also an orphan who Byakuya had met when he was traveling. He had fallen in love with her almost immediately. She had a warm personality and kind smile, the maids had told her. He went against the rest of the Kuchikis and married her because he knew he would never love another the way he loved her. Unfortunately for him, she died of some strange illness she had contracted within 2 years of their marriage._

_She had died a year before Rukia had come to live in the Kuchiki household. She figured it was still a fresh wound for Byakuya and he was trying to replace his wife with Rukia. At first, this had worried Rukia but when he asked her to be his sister, all of that worry that he would want her as his wife's replacement vanished. _

"_Shall I take your silence as a confirmation that I can do this?" Byakuya's voice broke her thoughts._

_She was still dumbfounded by all this but she just nodded. _Maybe this can be my chance at a normal life_. She fully hoped she was right and that she wasn't just being naïve. _

xxxxxxxx

She didn't feel ready in the least. She had just taken her placement and barely made a score that qualified her to go straight for senior year. _At least you will be the same age as your classmates._ She knew she couldn't have done any of without her tutor and Byakuya's support and help. She still couldn't help but feel unprepared. Not only was she starting school, but she was starting in the middle of the year. She didn't feel ready to take an exam or start classes at the same time everyone else had and she had expressed this concern to Byakuya. He told her that she can take her time and go when she felt ready. She was going to start three months after the others. _That was so stupid of you Rukia. Everyone is going to alienate you now._ As she thought this, she realized even if they didn't, she would probably not say a word to anyone.

She finished changing her clothes and got everything ready to get herself enrolled. She then ran down the stairs to see Byakuya ready for her at the front door.

"I am ready s…Nii-sama." He had insisted, once the paperwork went through that she call him brother but she decided she still needed to be formal with her savior, even if he was now legally her brother.

Byakuya nodded and started walking towards the limousine outside with Rukia following him. _It's going to be ok Rukia. _As she told herself this, she hardly believed it.

* * *

><p>"This is the third time you are in my office…THIS WEEK Kurosaki!" Ukitake was a patient man. He had been the principal of Karakura High for 15 years and had seen many students come through the school. He almost never lost his temper but this orange haired boy was really testing his patience.<p>

"Why is it that you keep trying so hard to get into trouble? I know you don't do anything without the others but you are the only one that ever gets caught."

The teen, who was sitting horizontally in the chair had his eyes closed. He looked like he didn't give a damn that he was here. He opened one eye and looked at Ukitake before closing it again. He simply shrugged his shoulders to show that he was answering the head master's question.

"Listen Ichigo, I keep trying to give you chances but you keep trying to destroy your reputation. I cannot keep giving you detention in hopes that you are going to change. I am going to have to suspend you sooner or later."

This caught Ichigo's attention. He knew he was acting out to get the attention but he certainly did not want the suspension.

"Why don't you just call my dad like you usually do?" He asked coolly. Ukitake knew that it had been a while since his dad had tried to do anything to discipline his son so that was his easy way out.

"Because I don't think that's really working is it?" Ukitake's voice softened. "Ichigo, think of the future you could have. This suspension could really hurt you. You don't want that do you? Your mother would be so proud of you, if you just get your act…"

"Do NOT talk about my mother like you know her." Ichigo yelled at the principal, interrupting his speech. Ichigo was fuming now. The boy who sat with a relaxed posture was now sitting upright in the chair and breathing heavily.

* * *

><p>Ichigo had been a stellar student and was great at sports. He practically was at the top of his class except for the times Ishida would top him by a few points. They always competed with each other for that spot. He had really close friends who stayed with him through everything. He would excel in school only to go back and help his father in the clinic he ran with his mother. His mother was his life. She was the best he could've asked for and she kept their family together. She was the center of their world.<p>

During his junior year of high school, he had gotten a call while he was in the middle of class.

"_Ochi-sensei, could you please send Kurosaki Ichigo with me to my office." Ukitake had interrupted class to get him. They walked silently to his office only to find his father sitting there slumped in the chair. He had his face in his hands. _

"_Dad, what's wrong?" Ichigo already felt panicked, seeing his father in such a state. _

"_I will give you both a moment." With that Ukitake left the room. The father and son never even noticed. _

"_Ichigo…your mother passed away this morning. She was in a car accident." His voice was very somber. _

_At first, his mind went blank. Then Ichigo refused to believe what he had just said. He just whispered 'No', over and over again. He felt a sense of dread wash over him when he remembered that he had asked his mother for a new backpack and she said that she would get one for him while he was at school. _Did she die because of me?_ He almost threw up thinking that he was responsible for her death. His eyes started to fog up before he fell to his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs. His father just looked at him with sad eyes that looked like they had been crying for hours. _

_Ukitake, along with other office staff burst into the room, hearing Ichigo scream only to find him sobbing uncontrollably on the floor. Ukitake told his secretary to hold all his calls for the day. _

"_Isshin, you both need to go home. I am taking you both back and I am not accepting no for an answer." He and Unohana, the school nurse, began to lift Ichigo and walk him out of there. _

"_Sentarou, can you please escort Mr. Kurosaki to my car? Also, can you please drive his behind mine?"_

_Ukitake had been a close friend of Isshin Kurosaki since his health was always troubling him. He had been going to the Kurosaki clinic since its beginnings in order to get treatment and he had gotten to know the Kurosaki family well. Masaki Kurosaki's death was a blow to him as well and he couldn't stand the sight of the two men in front of him looking so crumpled. _

_By the time they got back to the Kurosaki home, Ichigo had stopped crying and simply stared out into space. When they got there, he quickly jumped out of the car and ran to his room. He didn't leave there for three days. _

Ukitake knew that Masaki was a sore subject for Ichigo. Ichigo had decided to change the person he was after her death. He stopped spending time with his old friends. He joined a pair of hooligans and decided to act the way they did. His best friend, Sado had joined with him, mostly to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble. Ichigo stopped participating in sports, he stopped talking to his sisters, and he refused to work in the clinic.

Through it all, he still maintained his grades. They had slipped considerably for his standards but they were still very high. His mother was proudest of his academic achievements and he didn't want to stop impressing her in this small way. However, his grades were something only he and Ukitake knew about. Everyone else just assumed he had started failing everything.

When he joined the Division, it was just made up of two people: Grimmjow Jagerjaques and Abarai Renji. They didn't particularly like Ichigo and Chad at first but they were too apathetic to care who wanted to be a part of their group. They just asked them both to try to beat them in a fist fight which they easily won. Once he was part of the group, he started participating in small forms of revolt by simply painting graffiti on walls and smashing lockers. He just wanted a way to let out his frustration. No one in school bothered with him or the rest of the group. They knew that they were an apathetic bunch that didn't care about anyone but if they were messed with, each had the raw muscle to destroy anyone.

Ukitake tried hard to keep Ichigo out of trouble but his patience was running thin. He had been trying to keep his punishments to just detentions and parent phone calls. He didn't want to destroy his chances of getting into a good college or becoming a doctor as Ichigo had originally planned.

* * *

><p>Ichigo had calmed down from his outburst at Ukitake. His heavy breathing slowed back to its normal rhythm.<p>

"Ichigo, I don't want to mess up your future. I really hope you don't actually succeed in destroying it yourself." Ukitake's voice was low with a hint of sadness laced in it.

The head master's secretary knocked twice and entered the room. "Sir, your 10 o'clock is here."

"Thank you Kiyone. Tell them I will be another five minutes and apologize for the delay please." Ukitake knew the importance of this appointment but he wanted to finish his conversation with Ichigo. After all, he had known him since he was a child and he felt he owed him a little more advice.

"Ichigo -"

"Don't bother Sir_._ You are busy. I will just come back later." Ichigo thought he could get out of it using the distraction as an excuse.

"Not so fast. I wont suspend you this time. But do not test me again. I won't hesitate next time." Ukitake knew he was lying as he said that. When it came to the orange haired boy in front of him, he always hesitated. "Besides, I may have a way to make you pay me back for your newest infraction." Ukitake smiled warmly at the boy before pressing the intercom button. "Kiyone, can you send in my appointment?"

"Shouldn't I leave?" Ichigo was confused by Ukitake's unclear message.

"No, I think you should stay. It involves you too."

"Ukitake, I do not appreciate you making us wait so long." Byakuya coolly spoke as he entered the room. Ichigo spun around to see the black haired man walk in regally. Behind him, a small girl, half his height walked close to him, looking at her feet.

"I apologize Kuchiki-san. I had a minor situation to deal with." With that, he shot a glance towards Ichigo.

"Very well. Will this boy be joining us in the enrollment process?" Byakuya looked at Ichigo with a better-than-you look. Ichigo grimaced back at him. At the mention of a third party being in the room, Rukia lifted her head. She dropped the gloves she held in her hands. Her eyes started to tear up and she felt her heart pound.

"Kaien?"

* * *

><p>AN: Another long-ish chapter. Sorry it took so long. I wasn't happy with the first 50 drafts :P. And sorry if I made a few grammatical errors. I tried to catch as many as possible.

I know it's not really a cliffhanger per say. We all know its Ichigo and not Kaien. But how will Rukia react?

I will try to update the next chapter faster!

Please read and review. Pretty please with a cherry on top!


	3. The Last Resort

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, the central 46 wouldn't exist.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorite-d and subscribed to this story thus far!

Onwards with the story :)

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><p><strong>The Last Resort<strong>

"_Kaien!"_

"What?" Ichigo cocked his head to the side and looked at the petite girl.

Rukia blinked several times to get rid of the moisture in her eyes. The boy sitting in front of her looked so similar to Kaien. He had the same face, same mouth, same sad eyes, albeit the different eye color. The hair however was a stark difference. But in that moment, she had hoped that maybe he had lived and changed his appearance in order to stay out of Aizen's radar. When he looked confused, she knew she let her imagination get the better of her. _He is dead Rukia. Dead. Why would he be here?_ She mentally kicked herself for believing it for even a second.

She shook her head signifying that she meant nothing of her sudden outburst. She looked up at Byakuya who looked at her with the same stoic expression as always. He looked at the boy and then decided to venture into what had previously been unchartered territory for them.

"He does look similar to the other boy doesn't he?"

Rukia's eyes widened. _So he does look like him. I am not going crazy_. Rukia worried that her first experience in high school happened to bring back unwanted memories. She cringed a little wondering if she made the right decision by accepting Byakuya's proposal that she go to high school. She looked up at Byakuya again with hopeful eyes that he would just let her continue with the tutoring and let her stay at home. He, however, didn't look at her, knowing she would find any reason not to be here.

"Ukitake, this is Rukia, the girl I told you about. Can you make sure she gets settled into her classes well and doesn't fall behind? She is certainly capable of doing the work, she just needs to catch up a little on what everyone has been learning these past few months." Byakuya spoke to the white haired man in a business like manner. Ukitake smiled at Rukia and gave her a little wave as though she were a child. He then looked back at Byakuya impassively.

"That is just the topic I wanted to talk to you about. This here is Kurosaki, Ichigo. He is one of our brightest students. He has volunteered to help your sister catch up with her classes. He can help everyday after school for as long as she needs. I also just prepared her schedule so that she has at least 4 classes with him. The rest are classes he has already taken and can therefore help her with them." Ukitake shot a sly grin towards Ichigo whose jaw dropped a little as he heard the punishment Ukitake had decided upon him.

"Wait a minute, I -", he began to protest when he was interrupted by Ukitake.

"Rukia, why don't we get you enrolled before your 3rd class so that you don't miss too much of your first day. As for you Ichigo, I think our conversation is over. You should go to your class now." Ukitake took a stern voice, emphasizing that Ichigo go to class as he dismissed him.

Ichigo let out a low grunt before he stormed out of the office. _Who does he think he is sticking me with baby-sitting duties?_ Ichigo fumed all the way to his class.

Byakuya watched the boy walk out of the room with fury and narrowed his eyes in Ukitake's direction.

"This Ichiro kid…is he really a trust-worthy person? I don't want anyone lower than the best to help her." Byakuya was still suspicious of the orange haired boy. He felt that anyone with such a hair color had to be up to no good. "Besides, considering her reputation, she may need protection. What have you arranged for that?"

Ukitake had forgotten to take that factor into consideration. _I could just volunteer Ichigo's name for this too but he will probably murder me in my sleep,_ he thought, chuckling to himself.

"**Ichigo** _is_ the best. I will get on the matter of protection. Until she has someone to watch over her, the teachers will keep an eye out for her." Ukitake made sure to stress that he trusted the boy and secretly hoped he wouldn't do something stupid in this situation.

"I will trust your judgment in the matter Ukitake."

They finished all the paperwork required for Rukia's enrollment with the girl sitting quietly, staring into the distance. She wondered why this new person looked like Kaien. _Maybe they were related_. Rukia couldn't understand if this was the world's way of playing a cruel joke on her.

Byakuya looked at Rukia. "Good luck with your first day." He wasn't sure how to react in the situation. He knew most people would hug or do something similar but he was above such a means of affection. However, he felt that maybe she would find in comforting. They did an awkward dance between a hug and a possible handshake before Byakuya just patted her on her head and strutted out of the office.

Rukia turned towards Ukitake with scared eyes. She had always had Byakuya at her side since her almost death. When he went to work or on trips, she was still in his home and felt comfortable there. She felt very alone and afraid when Byakuya left.

"Rukia, there is no reason to be afraid. We are all here for you. You just need to leave your mind open to new opportunities." When her eyes showed no sign of appeasement he decided to take a different approach. "How about I give you a tour of the school? You still have a little while before your third class."

She nodded mutely and followed him as he walked out of his office. He told reception to hold all calls for him. He asked them for Rukia's schedule and they handed it to him in a new envelope. He quickly opened it and handed her schedule to Rukia with a smile. He then motioned for her to follow and they walked through the halls with him explaining where all the classes were. Rukia paid attention as much as she could although her eyes kept straying to her new schedule. _Why did I end up in such hard classes!_ Even though she had been so lost in her thoughts she noticed that suddenly, Ukitake's voice had turned quieter.

"Rukia, Byakuya informed me of how he found you. You can be assured that you will be taken care of here. Safety is of the utmost important to us. We will make sure you are always ok so please don't be afraid."

Rukia looked at the kind white haired man. _He knows_. She thought sadly. He didn't know why she had been in that situation, since she hadn't even told Byakuya, but he knew that she had been in trouble. His voice and eyes assured her that he spoke the truth. She wanted to believe him but she still kept her guard up. _Never trust too easily Rukia_. She had once trusted too easily only to be let down and she wasn't going to let it happen again.

"Arigatou." She said softly to the man. He smiled softly at her before stopping their tour at a random classroom.

"No problem Kuchiki. This will be where your next class is. It will start in 5 minutes. The last class should let out…now." As he looked at his watch to confirm, the bell rang and piles of students crowded the hallways. Rukia quickly thanked Ukitake again before running into the classroom that was now deserted.

Minutes later, the classroom filled and people were bustling with conversation. Everyone was excited about something different. No one really noticed her until a boy with black hair came up to her.

"Ano…you are in my seat." He sheepishly pointed out her error.

Rukia blushed a little and stood quickly. She whispered 'Sorry' and walked to the back of the class. She saw a blob of orange towards the back. She walked over to the boy who was now laying his head on his desk.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" She asked him, pointing to the seat next to him.

He looked up and saw her purple eyes. His eyes looked tired, showing a tiny amount of vulnerability. He quickly masked it with anger.

"You are the new girl I am apparently in charge of aren't you?"

"Um…ya. I am Rukia, remember?" She figured, if he was going to tutor her, the least he could do was learn her name.

"I don't really ca -" Ichigo was interrupted by the teacher asking Rukia to come to the front of the class.

Rukia did not do well in front of people. She started shaking a little. She dropped her backpack on the floor and willed herself to move but her feet felt like cement blocks. She could feel the eyes of her new classmates boring into her.

"Go already. No one is going to carry you up there, your highness." Ichigo told her in an angry tone. Those sitting next to them snickered at his remark. She snapped her head towards him giving him a death glare.

With sudden confidence she walked to the front of the class. She didn't know why she suddenly felt the urge to actually move but she knew she was mad at the orange haired boy in the back of the class.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" The teacher gave an enthusiastic smile.

Still slightly angry at Ichigo she started to speak in a fake high pitched voice. "Konnichiwa, I am Kuchiki Rukia and I am so glad to be here." With that she gave a cheeky smile to Ichigo. He just cringed a little at her sugar coated voice.

He hated the way that sounded. Rukia really had no idea that it would bother him that she spoke that way but seeing him cringe as she did gave her a slight satisfaction. She tossed her hair lightly and sauntered her way to the back of the class. She sat in the seat next to him and stuck her tongue out at him at which he just rolled his eyes.

"A Kuchiki huh…that's pretty cool." The teacher was awed by the presence of a celebrity. She quickly regained her composure and began teaching the subject for the day.

"Well that was an annoying voice!" Ichigo whispered to the girl sitting next to him.

"Glad you found it annoying. It served its purpose then Kurosaki-kun" She answered back in the same sweet sticky voice.

He cringed when he heard it again before smirking. "As much as it annoys me, you just brought yourself a lot of hardship midget. You now have to speak like this every time you open your mouth in school."

Rukia opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. _Shit, he's right._ She frowned at him before looking to the front of the class to figure out what today's lesson was.

* * *

><p>Rukia had brought lunch with her. Lunch that the chef had prepared specifically for her. However, knowing the kind of menus usually prepared, it was probably some fancy gourmet food that she really did not want to eat. She saw the sandwiches and bento boxes other students had and wished that maybe she could eat something like that.<p>

_I will ask him to cook me something like that for tomorrow._ She walked to the cafeteria which she could only find by following the herds of students. When she got there she saw everyone sitting at tables with their friends. Some sat in groups out in the balcony. She didn't know anyone except Ichigo. But even he wasn't really someone who she would call a friend. She just looked around until she saw an open bench in the balcony. _Guess you are eating alone Rukia._ She started walked towards it when she heard someone say her name.

"That's the Kuchiki girl!" Someone said. Rukia couldn't place where the voice came from. The whole cafeteria erupted in conversation about her. She started trying to figure out the types of students she was spending the next school year with

"That's her? She hardly looks rich or famous." - _The skeptic_

"I didn't know there was a girl our age in the family." - _The book worm_

"I wonder how she is related to Byakuya-sama." - _The girl trying to sleep with famous people._

Rukia may have judged them inwardly but she felt extremely uncomfortable in her current situation. She knew all eyes were on her. Suddenly she had a hand pull on her elbow causing her to almost drop her notebook. She turned around and faced a blond haired woman.

"You are the Kuchiki girl right?" the girl asked her with a scowl on her face.

Rukia just nodded her head, afraid of what was to happen next. She tried to avoid physical contact with most people after she was rescued. She was always afraid of people touching her after the way she had been treated at Hueco Mundo.

"Well, I just wanted you to know your place on the first day Kuchiki. I am Rangiku Matsumoto, this is Hisagi Shuuhei, Kira Izuru and Hinamori Momo. We run this school understand? Just because you come from a wealthy family doesn't mean anything. You will still listen to us. Got it?" Rangiku explained her stance in a cold, harsh voice making Rukia cringe a little.

She just nodded again before the girl let go of her elbow. She then flipped her hair behind her, almost hitting Rukia with it and walked away, with the other three following her. She didn't notice how hard Rangiku had been holding her arm until she let it go. _First day here, and you already attracted negative attention. Nice job Rukia._ She went to the empty bench and placed her notebook down. She looked at her elbow which was now red from the pressure. She rubbed it gently to ease the slight pain she felt.

"Yo…do you want me to go talk to Rangiku about that?" Rukia looked up to see Ichigo leaning against the wall near her with his eyes closed. She hadn't noticed him before and didn't know how long he had been there. She just plastered a fake smile and started speaking in her high pitched voice.

"Kurosaki-kun, that's so nice of you to ask." Sick of the fake voice herself, she went back to her usual self. "It's ok. I can take care of myself." She looked down at her feet before looking back at him, masking any vulnerability in her eyes. "How long have you been here? You spying on me?"

Ichigo opened an eye and raised an eyebrow at her before shaking his head and closing his eyes again. "Don't flatter yourself midget. I was just waiting for people and I saw what happened. I don't have any reason to spy on you."

Her expressionless face showed anger again. She grabbed her notebook and threw it at his head. However, she missed and hit his chest instead.

"I am NOT a midget. Stop calling me that!" She yelled.

He simply opened his eyes and rubbed his chest, even though he didn't feel any pain. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the fuming girl. He was about to retort by calling her a midget again when Grimmjow showed up and whacked Ichigo on the shoulder.

"How long have you been here? Who's this?" The blue haired man had some feral qualities to him that Rukia found slightly menacing.

"This is _nobody_. Why are you guys late? Let's go." With that, he and Grimmjow started walking away with Renji and Chad following. As they walked past her, Chad threw her a glance and gave her a small smile.

Rukia shook her head and wondered why everyone in high school were idiots and why her nii-sama decided that she needed to do this. She took her lunch out of her backpack and stared at the box. _Did he really think I wanted to eat caviar? _

* * *

><p>Ichigo sat under a cherry blossom tree. He had his eyes closed and he rested his head on the trunk. He had lunch to eat but he wasn't really in the mood to eat it. He felt bad that his sister had probably slaved over it that morning and he was probably not going to eat it. <em>I will eat it before she gets back home. <em>He thought.

He opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the small girl he had just argued with. She was sitting quietly, staring at her lunch box, not eating anything. _Must be tough being the new kid._

He always had friends, even when he didn't want them around. When he saw Rukia, he couldn't understand what it must be like to not have people with her. He remembered that his old group of friends always sat on the roof for lunch. _They probably would take her in with open arms if she went up there. _He thought about asking her to go to the roof and talk to them. _Why should I care about what she does?_ He realized that she was not his business except for the tutoring so he just stayed quiet.

"How long are you planning on staring at her? I mean she is kinda cute but…" Renji finally spoke to Ichigo, after figuring out the boy's point of interest.

Ichigo looked bewildered. "I am not looking at her! I am looking past her." Renji just made a noise showing he didn't really believe him.

"She looks lonely." Chad piped up.

"Who cares? She is just some random new kid. Just leave it alone." Grimmjow finally said, making everyone shut up.

Ichigo looked at Chad since he was the only one who seemed to understand the sentiment he carried. Without saying a word, Chad got up and walked back into the school leaving the others confused. He came back and wordlessly sat down after a couple of minutes. They all looked at him, expecting him to say something about where he went but he just started eating his lunch.

Chad never spoke much so Ichigo knew not to expect an answer from him anytime soon. Ichigo just threw another glance over to Rukia. He was surprised to see Tatsuki and Orihime were now talking to her. They seemed to say just a few words before all three of them walked back into the school. Ichigo looked back at Chad and smiled inwardly. _Chad you sneaky dog._

* * *

><p>Rukia was starting to get a little hungry and she decided that maybe caviar wasn't so bad. She never liked it but it seemed that Byakuya was very fond of the fish eggs. She contemplated using the emergency money Byakuya had given her to buy some lunch for herself.<p>

"Hi there!" Rukia looked up to see smiles from an orange haired girl and a black haired girl. _I didn't know there were so many orange haired people in the world! _She thought to herself.

"I am Inoue Orihime and this Arisawa Tatsuki. We heard that you are the new student. Would you like to come eat with us? We usually eat on the roof." She smiled brightly at her.

Rukia was shocked by the sudden hospitality by random strangers. She just nodded at them before she spoke. "I am Kuchiki, Rukia. You can just call me Rukia." She smiled a little at them before picking up her stuff and following them back into the school and heading up the stairs.

She couldn't help but wonder if this was a trap. She didn't really know these people and she wasn't sure if they were taking her upstairs just to tease her. But she followed them anyways. During the whole walk up the stairs, Orihime did not stop talking.

"So Kuch…I mean Rukia. I hope you like our school. It's an awesome school. It has awesome people. Some people are not that awesome but other people are. You should join the sewing club. Ishida and I are in that club. Can you sew Kuc…I mean Rukia? I hope you can. It's ok if you can't we can teach you…"

Tatsuki quickly clamped her hand over the girls mouth.

"Inoue, breath! Let's not scare her away with all your talking." She grinned at Orihime before looking back at Rukia with a smile. "Sorry, Inoue talks a lot."

Rukia laughed a little and told her it's ok. They reached the roof where a set of students were sitting in a circle.

"Everyone, this is Kuchiki Rukia. She just wants to be called Rukia." Tatsuki then looked at Rukia and started pointing at the others. "This is Mizuiro Kojima, Keigo Asano, Ishida Uryu, and Chizuru Honsho."

Rukia politely bowed at the group and waved at them. They all proceeded to say a hello or something similar.

"You were in my psychology class this morning weren't you? You were sitting in my seat." Mizuiro smiled at her.

"Sorry about that. I didn't know where to sit." She answered with a blush.

Chizuru stood up and hugged the small girl. "Well she certainly doesn't have your gifts Orihime but she is so cuuuuuute." Rukia was shocked by this random display of affection. She tensed up at the physical contact. Suddenly Tatsuki punched Chizuru in the face sending her away from Rukia.

"Sorry about that. Chizuru is a little perverted. Come, you can sit here." She motioned Rukia to sit near her and Orihime. Rukia sat down and let out an inaudible sigh.

Everyone continued eating their lunch and having a conversation about whether or not sewing and knitting were the same thing. Orihime turned to Rukia.

"Rukia-chan, are you not going to eat anything?"

Rukia thought back to her lunch and smiled at Orihime. "I don't really like what I have. I can just eat something when I get back."

Orihime looked outraged by this suggestion. "Nani! You have to eat something. Here, take out your box, I will give you some of my food. I brought a lot to share!"

Rukia didn't notice the looks the others gave her, warning her not to share Orihime's food She just opened her box revealing the caviar. They all looked at her like she was crazy.

"You brought caviar for lunch?" Keigo finally asked her.

"The chef just made this and packed it. I would've been just fine with a normal bento box." She had a tone of disappointment in her voice. She then saw the way the brunette stared at the caviar. "Would you like some Asano-san?" She offered some to the boy. He nodded his head enthusiastically. She didn't notice the others looking at her food, but Ishida did.

"How about this" Ishida started. "Since none of us have tried caviar, we will trade some of our food for some of yours. That way we all get a little of what we want."

Rukia was delighted by the offer. The group proceeded to trade food around and try everything. She laughed at the faces Keigo made as he tried the fish eggs. She hadn't laughed like this since…_Kaien_. She had laughed before when Kaien and her used to joke with each other. Those were the last times she had laughed since now, she remembered.

They had spent all lunch trying to trade food around and eat everything, that the break time ended. Tatsuki patted Rukia on the back.

"You should definitely eat with us everyday. Just come straight up here tomorrow k?

Rukia nodded smiling widely at the spiky haired girl. They all walked back downstairs to resume the rest of their day. _Maybe I can make friends! Nii-sama would be proud of me._ Rukia thought before she went to her next class.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day went by without any problems. Rukia got used to introducing herself in front of the class. She happened to be sitting near Ichigo in all the classes they shared because he always sat near empty seats in the back. They both ignored each other for the first few classes, just listening quietly to the teacher's lecture.<p>

Rukia vigilantly took notes and was surprised to see Ichigo take notes as well. _Doesn't seem like the type to give a crap about class._ He occasionally yawned and even drifted off but his hand didn't stop scribbling notes.

When they got to their last class, she went through the usual ritual of introducing herself and then proceeding to the back and taking a seat near Ichigo.

"You know, you don't have to follow me in every class midget."

Rukia's temper rose and she pressed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. "How many times do I need to tell you to stop calling midget before you listen?"

"It's not the matter of how many times, it's the matter of you gaining a couple of inches." With that, Ichigo grinned widely at her, showing off all his teeth. Rukia rolled her eyes him and then got a wicked thought in her head.

"I am plenty tall enough. Besides, I am not following you. You just happened to sit near the one empty seat in all these classes _strawberry_!"

Ichigo's smile vanished. His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed at her.

"What do you mean by 'Strawberry'?"

"Simply that as long as you call me midget, I am calling you Strawberry! That is what Ichigo means, isn't it? Besides, it suits your unnatural hair color." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Not if I can help it!" He raised his voice a little, gaining the attention of everyone in the class, including the teacher.

"Anything you both want to share with the class? Kurosaki and Kuchiki?" The teacher had her hands on her hips and was glaring at the two.

"No. Sorry sensei." Rukia bowed her head and blushed as she spoke. Ichigo simply ignored the teacher. The sensei, happily accepted Rukia's apology and went back to teaching.

Rukia continued to look down at her notebook and furiously copy any notes she missed already. She stayed in this position for most of the class before the teacher asked them to work on tonight's homework with a partner. Rukia looked up and blinked. _Oh great. Now I need a partner. _Rukia looked around and saw everyone partnering up with others.

"You can say you are my partner. I don't really feel like doing the work now but you can start. I will count this as part of the tutoring thing I am supposed to do." Ichigo told her quietly.

In that moment, she was grateful that at least someone wanted to be her partner. Even if he was a lazy, and arrogant strawberry. She started working on her homework and he immediately placed his finger on one of the lines she had just written.

"That's wrong." As he moved his hand away from the paper, his hand grazed the skin on her forearm. She tensed up a little before relaxing when he had moved back. Ichigo noticed this but decided she was probably just a little shy. He looked at the clock hanging to the side and saw that the day was almost done. He looked at the petite girl next to him. _Ukitake can't really keep track of me doing this tutoring thing. _

When the bell rang, Ichigo quickly grabbed his things and was out the door before Rukia could ask him about that evening. Unfortunately for him, Ukitake was outside the classroom.

"In a hurry to leave, Ichigo?" Ukitake smiled at the boy.

_Crap!_ Ichigo looked at the white haired principal and scowled. "What is it Ukitake?"

"I certainly hope you are not forgetting something." Ukitake held out two sheets of paper and handed one to Ichigo. When Rukia came out her called to her and handed her the other sheet.

"These are evaluation sheets. Rukia, yours will tell me exactly how Ichigo worked and whether he did at all. Please be brutally honest." He winked at her and then looked at Ichigo with a smile. "Yours asks what you taught each day so be specific on what exactly you have been helping her with. Both of you, have a good week. These evaluations are important and I expect them at the end of the week in my office. If it goes longer than that, I will give you a new sheet."

"And what if I don't do it?" Ichigo asked as he stuffed the paper into a pocket in his backpack.

"Simple. I will have to suspend you." Ukitake grinned at him and then walked away.

Ichigo frowned at the thought and then let out a sigh. He looked at Rukia and finally asked.

"Where do you wanna study? Your place or mine?"

Rukia stared at the paper and then at Ichigo. She was comfortable in her home and she felt safe there. Besides, she was sure Byakuya wouldn't be too pleased about her at a boy's house.

She simply said, "My place."

* * *

><p>AN: I want to mention three things here: 1. I do actually like all the characters mentioned (except maybe Hinamori. How can anyone still be hung up on Aizen after everything!) so making some of them seem mean or bitchy is not my way of trashing them. I just felt that they would suit the roles well. 2. I have never had caviar and I am not dissing caviar. I just couldn't think of any other stereotypical rich people food so I used it.

3. I want start mentioning people's user names here as a thank you for reading, favorite-ing, subscribing and reviewing the stories. If anyone doesn't want their name mentioned or something like that please let me know. I want to start doing that from the next chapter on to really show how much I appreciate all of you taking the time to read my story.

Once again, Read and Review :) Reviews make Itsyugo very very happy ;) And me too!


	4. Alive For The First Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, this fullbring arc would go faster!

Sorry about not updating sooner. It has been hectic. Anyways, here is another chapter!

* * *

><p><strong>Alive For The First Time<strong>

Ichigo told Rukia to lead the way and he walked a few steps behind her.

"I don't want people to know that I have to do this ok." He had told her. She just shrugged and walked on.

They were almost out of school grounds when Grimmjow, Renji and Chad came towards Ichigo.

"Dude, leaving already? Let's go to our usual place." They started walking away, expecting Ichigo to walk behind them.

Ichigo was stuck figuring out how to get out of this. He saw the retreating figures of the three boys and then turned towards Rukia. She was waiting for him a few feet ahead. She looked back at him before she grinned playfully and started walking away. _Shit. I don't know where she lives. _Ichigo called out to the blue haired leader.

"Hey Grimmjow. Ukitake has me in detention again. I will catch up with you guys later k?" He smiled inwardly as he thought that should work as a good enough excuse. He was always in detention anyways so they were bound to believe it.

"Then why are you leaving? Last I checked, detention is inside right?" The red head spoke this time, calling him out on his bluff. Chad gave him a quizzical look.

"Oh…right. I guess I just forgot." Ichigo mentally cursed Renji for thinking about it. He turned towards the school and looked back at Division. They just stood there watching him as he went in. It took them a few minutes before they decided to leave. He quickly looked back to where Rukia was. She had left the school several minutes before and now he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Once he made sure the three boys were out of sight, he quickly ran to the gate. Rukia was nowhere to be found. _Damn that midget. Where did she go?_

"Kurosaki-kun!" He heard a high pitched voice call his name. He knew it was Orihime without turning towards her.

"Ohayo Kurosaki-kun! Heading home?" She attempted conversation with him.

He hadn't really spoken to his friends very much since his mother died. They had tried before but he would clam up and say nothing. When the rest of Division was around, he looked down on them just as the rest of his group did. When they weren't, he simply acknowledged them if they tried to talk to him. But he never actually had a conversation with them anymore. He just grunted a response giving her an affirmation.

Behind her, the rest of his former friends were coming together. They all said their hellos to Ichigo. He just nodded at each one. _Maybe I should go back home and look up where the Kuchiki household is. I'm sure it would be on the internet. _

"You are actually going home on time today?" Tatsuki asked him with a slight edge to her voice. "I am surprised you aren't in detention again." Ichigo just scowled at her.

"Tatsuki-chan! Why would he be? Kurosaki-kun isn't a bad person!" Orihime defended the orange haired boy, which he hardly even acknowledged. He was still thinking of what would be the quickest way to figure out how to get to Rukia's home. He certainly didn't want one bad evaluation to get him suspended.

He didn't notice Orihime was chattering away to him when he abruptly said bye and left the school, deciding that going home would be his safest bet.

Orihime's heart broke a little when he left that way.

They had been really close friends for 4 years before she realized she had feelings for him. It was the same year Masaki Kurosaki lost her life. She had also loved his mother and her death hurt her a lot. Orihime didn't have parents, and the only caretaker she had when she was younger was her brother Sora. When she transferred to the same school as Ichigo, Chad and Tatsuki as a kid, Tatsuki befriended her immediately and introduced her to the boys. They became a really close group.

The first time Ichigo had invited them all to his home, they had been welcomed with open arms by Masaki. She gave them fantastic meals and even made extra just for Orihime to take back to Sora. She had welcomed Sora and Orihime to their home several times as she felt that once in a while they needed a mother's cooking. All four of them had decided to join the same high school and were inseparable even with the addition of others to their group. Her brother died soon after she joined high school and Ichigo's mother had been like a mother to her after that, constantly sending over food and letting her sleep in their guest room.

She realized, at the start of junior year that Ichigo was a little more to her than just a friend. Being a klutz, she spilled some of her juice on herself and splashed a little on her face. Ichigo had taken a napkin and carefully wiped her face. He then took off his jacket and gave it to her to cover the wet spot on her shirt. She had blushed furiously. She kept thinking about his kindness and everything about him that entire day before she realized that she didn't really see him as just a friend. She told Tatsuki about it and the girl told her to confess her feeling to Ichigo. She kept waiting for the right time, but it never came. Then Ichigo's mother died and his world ended. She knew she had lost her opportunity to tell him how she felt. She knew Ichigo would never belong to her anymore because she would probably only remind him of his mother more.

Orihime's eyes moistened a bit before she blinked the tears away and plastered her usual smile on her face. She turned back to her friends and asked if they were ready to leave and they all just started walking out of the school.

* * *

><p>Ichigo ran towards his home, cursing the midget under his breath. <em>When I get to her, she is so going to regret leaving without me<em>. As he was running he saw a tiny girl staring through the window of a toy store only a few blocks away from school. He ran past the girl but then suddenly stopped in his tracks and ran towards her.

"There you are!" He yelled angrily.

She didn't turn towards him. She just kept staring at the big Chappy the bunny in the window. She was so fascinated with the bunny she hadn't even heard Ichigo behind her. She had already looked in her wallet and found that her emergency money was a few bucks short of what she needed for the bunny. _I should ask Nii-sama for more money for Chappy. _She thought quietly.

Chappy the bunny was the only thing Rukia could count on as an orphan. As she kept moving from one foster home to another, she would always get to watch the bunny on TV and that gave her a sense of peace and safety. When she was captured, she had kept her chappy keychain with her. Now, as she saw this life size doll, she knew she wanted…no needed it.

Ichigo couldn't understand what was keeping her gaze transfixed so he shook her shoulder a little, breaking her concentration on the rabbit. She glared at him before recognizing who it was. Then she quickly conjured a new plan.

"Listen Strawberry, I won't report you for being late today if you will let me borrow $10. I will give it back to you as soon as we reach my home." She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"Wha…No way! I am technically not late and besides you are loaded anyways. Why are you asking me for money midget?"

"Ichigo…" She pronounced each syllable in his name. "Just $10. I will return it to you. I NEED to buy this now!" Her voice sounded more angry than desperate.

Ichigo knew he was getting two things in return: A good evaluation and no actual loss of money. He figured he wasn't losing anything anyway so he slowly took out his wallet and fished for a $10 bill. The moment it was in his hand, she snatched it and ran into the store. He just stared at the spot that was previously occupied by the midget. He hardly saw her move at all but she had managed to snatch the money and go into the store within a blink of an eye.

Ichigo waited for a few minutes outside the toy store in order to save his dignity. He kept looking at the entrance of the toy store waiting for Rukia. _What the hell is this girl up to? This was not part of my job description. _He thought bitterly. He was planning on yelling at her when she came out when he saw the strangest sight. A lifesize bunny was emerging from the store by itself! He was concerned that he was going a little crazy before he saw Rukia behind the bunny, fusing with it as it was bigger than her. She saw Ichigo staring at her in disbelief. She grinned at him.

"Chappy was on sale!" She said, hugging the bunny closer.

"You do know that Chappy is for like 3 year olds right?" He teased.

"Nah-uh! Chappy is for anyone!" She childishly argued her point and blushed a little for letting herself seem immature.

He chuckled at her. "Fine. So how exactly do you plan to walk while lugging _that_ thing?" He asked her curiously.

Rukia opened her mouth and then shut it quickly. She hadn't thought this through. She just stood there with the enormous rabbit in her arms. Then she had an idea.

"Simple! I will just give him a piggy-back!" With that, she placed the rabbit on a shopping cart and positioned it so that she could carry it on her back. She removed her backpack and wore it on her front and then carried the rabbit on her back, stumbling a little due to the weight. She grinned at Ichigo and then started walking away.

Ichigo realized that he wasn't going to get a special invitation to follow her so he just walked behind her. His long strides eventually allowed him to catch up to her. They walked back in silence, except for the few snickers Ichigo threw at her as she struggled with the rabbit. He knew the gentlemanly thing to do would be to take the bunny from her but, he had given up being a gentleman a while ago. The last person he did something gentlemanly for was his mother and since then he just gave up on those little gestures. Besides, he was having too much fun ridiculing the struggling girl.

"So how come you don't you have a limo or something picking you up from school?" Ichigo asked her.

"I wanted to walk back for the first few days. Try to figure my way back."

She had asked for this when she was being driven to school. The house wasn't too far from the school so she felt that she could handle it. She had thought about how the last time she had decided to walk back home alone, she had ended up in trouble that lasted two years.

However, this time, she had been paying attention to the directions and the whole way she had seen other students walking towards the school, so she knew she just needed to leave with them.

Thinking back to her reasoning for walking back, she mentally cursed herself. She had just left by herself and could've put herself in danger again. She decided that one day of exploring was enough and that she would just ask to be driven from tomorrow. She told herself she probably just got lucky that nothing happened that day.

The rest of the trip to the Kuchiki manor was quiet. When they arrived, she rang the bell at the gate and told the maid who it was. As the gate opened, she saw Ichigo's jaw drop a little as he took in the size of the house. It was a house that looked even bigger than the school from the front. _Holy shit! She lives HERE?_ He thought to himself in awe.

They entered the house and he was still in shock at the house. Rukia was about to drop the bunny at the doorstep when several housemaids came to her aid and started taking her things. She kept her backpack with her. One came to Ichigo and asked for his backpack to which he silently shook his head and clutched it closer.

"The study is that way. Follow me." This time, Ichigo didn't try to stay behind. He stuck close, feeling foreign in the mansion. They reached a large room with oak doors and a large table in the middle. There were bookcases filled with books of all sorts all around the table.

"Madam, Byakuya-sama is on the phone, he wants to speak with you." One of the maids told her as she took the phone.

"Thank you so much…Hello? Hai Nii-sama. It was a good day. Hai, the boy is here. Hai, I will see you when you get home." She hung up quickly and then looked back at the astonished boy.

"Are you going to keep staring or shall we start today's lesson Strawberry?" She mocked him a little causing his reverie to be broken.

"I am not staring! Lets just start." He pulled on of the chairs out and sat in it, rummaging through his backpack to figure out which books he had with him.

Rukia pulled out a chair two seats away and sat down. Ichigo looked up and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Um…I am over here. How do you expect me to teach if you sit that far away?"

"My tutor and I sat this far before. What's wrong with the distance?" She questioned him.

"Well, for one, I can't read what you are doing from all the way over here. And two, I am not your tutor, so I don't have to do everything he did ok?" He spoke with annoyance evident in his voice. _What's wrong with this girl! _

Rukia frowned a little. "It was a she." She correctly quietly. She willed herself to move to the seat near him. She just stared at the spot for a little bit before she heard him sigh. He moved to the seat and started relocating his things. "I don't have all day you know!" He said rudely. She tensed up a little bit at the proximity.

"What do you want to go over today?" He asked placing all his books in front of him.

"Math?" She asked quietly, still trying to get used to someone being close to her for a long period of time.

"Alright." With that, he took his math book and they started working through problems.

He eventually asked her the question that had been puzzling him since she mentioned it.

"If you already had a tutor, why do you need me to do this?"

Rukia, who was intently figuring out the problem looked up with her big eyes.

"I don't know. Ukitake-sama decided this would be better since you know exactly how the teachers teach and what they expect. He felt that the tutor might not really know what would be best for me to learn." She went back to doing the problem.

Ichigo growled a little at the thought that Ukitake had decided this punishment even before his "crime". _That man is so annoying!_

xxxx

Byakuya came back early that day to make sure everything was going well with Rukia on her first day. He entered his home to find a giant bunny on the bottom step. He eyed the rabbit curiously before he walked into the study. He found Rukia and the Kurosaki boy working on what seemed to be math problems. He was intently listening to Rukia explain what she did before he dismissed it as correct and asked her to continue.

"Is everything here in order?" He asked sternly.

Rukia jumped in her seat and Ichigo simply turned to look at Byakuya.

"Hai Nii-sama. We are almost done. Ichigo is about to leave." Rukia got up in a hurry and bowed her head a little.

Byakuya simply shook his head. "Good. Rukia, I told you to stop doing that every time I enter a room." With that he left.

Rukia sat back down and let out a sigh.

"Scared much?" Ichigo teased her.

"I am not scared of my brother. I am just very respectful towards him." She went back to her problems after dismissing him with her comment.

When they finished the last few, Ichigo decided that she knew the material well enough and figured he could probably still catch the guys at the sub shop they frequented.

"Alright well, I think that's enough for today right? I am going to leave." Ichigo said as he packed up.

"Ichigo. Arigatou." Rukia was looking down at her books. Her dark bangs covered her eyes. "I know you didn't want to be here and I am probably embarrassing you but arigatou."

Ichigo was a little taken back by her sudden niceness. They had started out their relationship by insulting each other and he was already getting used to it. This was just out of place in their newfound relationship.

"Um… no problem I guess." He placed a hand on the back of his neck and scratched an imaginary itch. "Well see you tomorrow." He left the room but he looked back at the girl who didn't move even a little after her 'thank you'. _Odd girl_. He thought before leaving.

xxxx

Rukia had been bickering with Ichigo all through the lesson, as they finished each problem. The bickering had brought a smile to her face. When they finished, a sudden sense of loss shook her core. She knew she was starting to feel the pain of losing Kaien as Ichigo said his goodbye.

She and Kaien had had a playful relationship and they always argued and bickered for fun. It had reminded her of that. When he left, she felt the weight of Kaien's death crushing her again. Tears glistened on her cheeks as she tried to remember what it felt like to be in Kaien's arms again. He would hug her whenever he got the chance, telling her it helped him since Miyako wasn't there. She couldn't remember how it felt and that made her break down completely. She started sobbing uncontrollably for a few minutes before telling herself that she needed to let go. She had consciously tried to stop thinking about Kaien but with Ichigo now in her life, she was finding this to be a hard task.

She wiped her tears and tidied herself up before throwing all her books back into her backpack. She left the study and started towards her room when she saw the humongous rabbit at the foot of the stairs. She cracked a small smile before dragging it upstairs with her. _At least you won't ever leave Chappy_.

* * *

><p>Ichigo jogged back to Urahara's sub shop to find Grimmjow, Renji and Chad still sitting there. Ichigo and his family had known Urahara for a long time. They frequented the shop a lot before his mother had died. After her death, his family stopped coming to the shop. When Urahara had seen him with his new group of friends, he told Ichigo that his new group should come hang out at his shop. He enticed them by promising them a discount on their food. He missed the Kurosaki's and he felt that at least this way he could keep one of them in his life every once in a while.<p>

Ichigo nodded towards Urahara behind the counter. He then walked up to the table, pulled up a chair and sat down.

"What's up guys?" He asked, hoping no one would ask much about his "detention".

"How was detention? Ran a little late today eh?" Renji asked him suspiciously.

Ichigo tried to come up with a reason for being late. Detention always let out promptly at 4:30pm and it was almost 6pm. He was only a little late, but Renji had noticed.

"I decided to grab a bite to eat before coming here." His excuse however had only caused him to realize that he hadn't eaten anything yet. He remembered his lunch, still left uneaten but knew it might be weird if he ate that now just after he had "eaten".

"You ate something … before coming to a sub shop? Seems kinda stupid if you ask me." Renji quipped.

Ichigo just growled at him before focusing his attention on Grimmjow.

"Whats the matter with you? You see awfully quiet today."

Grimmjow was usually the loudest, and to other people, the most obnoxious of the group. Today however, he seemed like he was the quietest. His mind seemed to be miles away.

"It's nothing." He looked at the clock hanging above Ichigo. "Hey, I have somewhere I need to be in a couple of minutes. I will see you guys tomorrow ok?" Grimmjow got up and left the place quietly.

They were all used to Grimmjow's mood swings. He had random days once in a while where he would be quiet and standoffish to everyone. They always felt like he was hiding something but none of them asked him what it was. He would stay silent that entire day and the next day he would be tired, slightly battered sometimes. They all thought the same thing about the situation. _If he needed us to know, he would tell us._ Until then, they just weren't going to pry.

After Grimmjow left, Renji decided to start a topic which secretly interested Ichigo.

"So that new girl…she is kinda hot. You know in a super rich and more pretty than smoking hot kinda way. Right Ichi? That's why you were checking her out right?"

"I was doing nothing like that. She is just like any other girl in school. I'm not really interested." He said coolly to the tattooed boy.

"Oh ok good. I was worried that you might be. That means I can ask her out or whatever right?"

"Since when do you ask a girl out Renji?" Chad joined the conversation, accusing Renji of never being in a relationship.

"I don't. But come on, she is a Kuchiki. She is obviously not going to put out unless I legitimately date her. Right?" As Renji said this, Ichigo felt his blood boil a little.

He had heard Renji speak like this about other girls before and he never really cared. He had always just thought he was crude, but he had never gotten angry. Hearing Renji talk about Rukia that way pissed Ichigo off and he wasn't sure why.

"I don't think she will go for a guy like you anyway." Ichigo said with a dangerously low voice.

"Is that a challenge Ichi?"

"No. It is a fact. Just leave her alone. It is probably hard enough being new without the added problem of a tattooed weirdo asking you out." Ichigo calmed himself down telling himself that he probably just felt sorry for her.

Subconsciously, he pictured her as he last saw her: with her head down, her hair covering her eyes. He thought she looked so vulnerable and innocent in that moment.

"Ichigo is right. You should probably leave her alone. At least let her get settled in first. Then you can probably bother her." Chad added in. Ichigo just looked at him, silently acknowledging the fact that he had stood up for him.

"Ok…you both need to calm down. I won't do anything ok." Renji had an irritated tone. In his mind, he simply said _today_. _I won't do anything today._

"Well, I should probably get back." Ichigo offered no explanation for wanting to leave. He rose from his seat and waved with one simple hand flick and left.

He walked a few blocks away from the shop before opening his backpack and grabbing the bento box Yuzu had made for him. He ate it all while sitting on a walkway in front of a store. He thought about how he had felt completely different today in an indescribable way. Sure he had been pissed at Ukitake, and spent his whole day yelling at the midget but he felt different. At least that's what he concluded having no other explanation to suffice.

When he was done, he rose and tidied everything up before turning to see he had just eaten in front of the same toy store as before. The giant Chappy display still there. He just chuckled a little at seeing the oversized bunny.

He started wondering to himself. _When was the last time I bought something for Yuzu or Karin from this store? _He suddenly remembered that he had hardly spoken to his sisters in a while, let alone bought them something. However, today he felt like hugging his sisters and just seeing them smile. He felt himself slighty revert back to the person he used to be. One that loved being with his family, loved talking to his old friends and one that used to find the Renji and Grimmjow obnoxious. He just figured it was part of the strange different attitude he was sporting today.

He pulled out his wallet to see how much money he had so that he could buy something for his sisters only to realize he had $5 left. _That midget never paid me back! _He thought about going back to the Kuchiki manor to reclaim his money but decided he would just start with a hug for his sisters and then buy them something later.

SPACER

Rukia joined Byakuya for dinner after making sure her face looked presentable. She tried to cover up the fact that she had been crying with some makeup. Byakuya, who had been reading some reports from his company looked up at her just once before placing the reports on the table.

"You have been crying. What did that incompetent fool do?" He asked her sternly, referring to Ichigo

"I wasn't crying Nii-sama!" She barely squeaked out.

Byakuya looked at her suspiciously before getting to his dinner. They ate in silence. Suddenly Rukia remembered something.

"I never paid him back!" She saw her brother give her another curious glance.

She smiled at her brother, brushing off her comment. The rest of the dinner proceeded in silence as usual. At the end, Byakuya took out his wallet and walked over to Rukia. He placed the same amount of money he had given her previously. He then retreated to the lounge as he always did after his dinner.

Rukia felt so grateful that her brother had not bothered her by asking her questions or prodding unnecessarily. She realized that at some point she would owe him the details. She walked up to the lounge where he was reading a book and sat on the couch next to him.

"I will tell you what happened to me one day. I promise Nii-sama. But for now I just wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me." She looked at her shoes as she quietly thanked him.

He looked up at her, his expression softening a little and patted her head. She quickly lifted her head to see something very unusual on his face. She saw the smallest smile on his face that only stayed on his face for a fraction of a second. He then retracted his hand and continued reading again. She smiled at him and then left. _I wish you had lived Kaien. You would've liked Nii-sama._

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><p>AN: Kinda long chapter again. Again, I want to mention that I love all these characters on Bleach as they are so if they seem a little OOC, sorry. They probably just fit the character I am trying to portray.

I also wanted some possible feedback if possible. Are these chapters too long or should I keep it at this length? I can probably post chapters like this as like 2 or 3 chapters if this is too long. Please let me know either way! Arigatou!

Thank you for all the reviews and favorites and subscriptions! Thank you LeftHRyder, Mari Kia Resha Aishiteru, xwhitemoonx, NORA, Kurosaki Anne, and blissbeat for the reviews and thanks to all those who added this story as a favorite and subscribed to it.

Again...Read and Review! Reviews make Grimmjow flash a sexy smile :D


	5. The Only Exception

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Ichigo or Rukia...*sigh*

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry for waiting so long in updating this chapter. I went away to India for a month and well...there was absolutely nothing giving me inspiration to write there, let alone the spotty internet access. I will update faster now that I am back.

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><p><strong>The Only Exception<br>**

Rukia got out of the limousine gracefully and walked into school with a smile on her face. She had gotten to school a lot earlier than the other students. She didn't quite feel ready to mingle with a lot of the student body yet so she preferred coming early. Rukia walked to her first class to be greeted with a completely empty room. Happily she took a seat in the back and started reading a manga she had brought from home. Soon enough, the bell rang signaling that students had a few minutes to get to their classes.

"Kuch…Rukia!" She heard the high pitched voice that belonged to Orihime.

"Ohayo Orihime" She responded with a smile.

Tatsuki, Chiziru and Ishida followed Orihime towards Rukia.

"I didn't know you were in this class." Ishida said looking at his watch.

"I was enrolling for classes yesterday. I missed my first two classes. Does anyone usually sit here? I don't want to steal someone's seat." She didn't want to make the same mistake as the previous day.

"Nah, you are fine. Just be warned though. Kurosaki Ichigo sits right there." Tatsuki pointed to the seat to her left.

Rukia just smiled at them and said that was fine much to their surprise. The teacher came in and everyone scattered to their seats. When the final bell sounded, the teacher started talking only to be interrupted by an orange headed boy bursting in a few seconds late.

"Sorry." He rasped, before taking his seat.

The teacher looked stunned at him since it had been ages since Ichigo had apologized about anything. The boy stared back at the teacher before giving up and retrieving his books. The teacher decided to get on with the lesson while still wondering what caused his sudden change in attitude.

"What in the world causes strawberries to run late?" Rukia mused out loud, although they both knew it was a question directed at him.

Ichigo growled at her in response and then diverted his eyes back to his notebook. Rukia had become a little fond of their arguing that she was surprised by his lack of response. She decided not to pry if there was something bothering him. After all, she hardly knew him. She took out her wallet and retrieved $10 and placed in on his desk. He looked at the money before pocketing it and nodding at her.

Ichigo was choosing to ignore her and it was taking a lot of effort to do so. After Renji's remarks about pursuing her and the way she acted when he left the day before, he couldn't help but think about the small girl sitting next to him the rest of the day. He had even had a strange dream about her.

It had started without her or anyone else. He was quietly sitting near a tree in a grassy field, but then he was suddenly watching her chase bunnies in a field. It was such a peaceful dream and he actually felt extremely content in that field. So content that he had overslept and was a little late for class. He didn't like that someone was occupying his mind so much after just one day so he decided to ignore her until his tutoring duties. After all, that was all the interaction he was required to have with her.

When the class finally ended Rukia looked up at Ichigo with confused eyes making his resolve to ignore her almost disappear completely. Just as he was about to say something to her Orihime came up to them smiling brightly. She then came in close and started to whisper.

"Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-kun, I wanted to let you know that we are going to be throwing a surprise party for Tatsuki this weekend. I hope you both can make it!" She put on a huge smile and handed them both a card letting them know more about Tatsuki's party. Ichigo simply grunted showing that he wasn't planning to commit himself to the event. Rukia stared at the card for a few seconds before grinning widely at Orihime.

"Of course I will be there. Thank you so much for inviting me!" She was elated that someone actually thought of her as a friend already that they invited her to a party. She looked up only to see Ichigo had already left the room.

Rukia decided she would just ask him later whether he was going to be there too.

* * *

><p>Rukia was ready for another interesting lunch period with her new friends. <em>That sounds nice…Friends.<em> She thought to herself with a smile. She was looking forward to the normal sandwich lunch she had asked the chef to prepare for her. She quickly made it to the staircase only to be stopped by a spiky redhead.

"Yo!" Renji stood at the middle of the entrance to the stairwell. He nodded his head as he acknowledged her.

"Um…hello." Rukia figured he was probably just being courteous and talking to her so she tried to get around him. He stopped her by placing a hand on the nearby wall.

"What's your hurry? Don't have time to just have a little chat?" Renji was determined to get to know this girl better. Rukia looked at him apprehensively.

"Chat? Uh I think you have me confused with someone else." Rukia didn't understand why some random stranger would want to have a conversation with her without any prompting. But then again, it was a random conversation with Tatsuki and Orihime that had her going up to the roof for lunch. She then remembered that she had seen him sitting with Ichigo before. _Maybe this is about Ichigo._

"Nope. I wanted to talk to you Kuchiki." Renji grinned widely before he placed a hand on her shoulder. Rukia flinched at the contact. "Let's go somewhere else shall we? We don't want to block the stairs for others right?" Renji then moved his hand to her upper back and slightly pushed her to make her walk.

They got to one end of the cafeteria before he decided they were far enough from other people. He had his back towards the rest of the student body, keeping her shielded from everyone else. She was starting to feel uncomfortable with the way she was cornered. It reminded her of how she felt with she was caught by Aizen. She lowered her gaze, mentally preparing to bolt whenever possible.

"So Kuchiki, how about you and me go out on a date?" He bluntly asked her without any preface. He hadn't even looked her way when he asked. He just looked to a distance or at his nails as though anything else would be more interesting than she was.

Rukia looked up and gaped at him as though he had spoken a different language. She had never said a word to this guy till that moment and he just asked her out. She wasn't sure if she should be concerned or flattered. She settled on slightly peeved.

"You can't be serious. Do you even know my first name?" Rukia raised an eyebrow at him while questioning his sanity and logic.

"Is that important? I will find out on our date. So when are you free?" Renji coolly questioned her as though she had agreed on the date.

He then moved his hand to push a loose strand of hair off her face. Rukia slapped his hand away and moved the strand herself. Renji's grin faded a little at the action. This girl had not only ridiculed his proposal but also rejected his niceness.

"I never said I would go out with you!" Rukia was getting angrier at the red head's cocky attitude.

"You never said no either." Rukia winced at the harsh tone in which he spat out his words.

Renji then grabbed both her arms hard in an effort to be more coercive. Rukia squirmed from the contact. She closed her eyes and immediately thought of Kaien. She wished he would save her. Renji noticed her tense up and loosened his grip a little, feeling guilty about his behavior.

"What's going on here?" Renji turned around to see Ichigo with a scowl on his face.

Ichigo had seen Renji corner Rukia and immediately felt his blood boil. He didn't like the idea that Rukia was talking to Renji. He was then frustrated by this surge of emotions from the simple scene. He then spent several minutes, conflicted as so whether he should go talk to them or not. When he saw Renji try to brush her hair away, he made his decision.

Once Rukia heard Ichigo's voice, she immediately felt her anger dispel. She didn't understand why, but she felt a little safer.

"Nothing's going on." Renji said waving his hand and walking away.

He was furious that he had been completely rejected. Usually, he didn't care about a girl; he just wanted to satisfy his urges. This time, he actually found this girl to be somewhat appealing and wanted something different. He had tried to put on a calm exterior by passing his interest as just another conquest but he knew he honestly did find her to be something more, even if he didn't know her. The delicate looking girl had caught his eye the previous day. She had reminded him of someone in his past and he wanted to get to know her better.

"You ok?" Ichigo asked her as he looked at Renji's retreating figure. He still couldn't understand his reasons for wanting to chase Renji away from her but he was just relieved that the red head was gone.

"Yeah. Ichi…" She wanted to thank him again but he raised his hand to stop her before walking away from her.

She was gracious that he had stopped her because knew she probably wouldn't have been able to finish the sentence. She didn't realize it until she looked at her hands and saw them shaking. Rukia just stood in her spot, for a little while counting backwards from a hundred to calm herself. She didn't like this person she had become, but sadly it was who she was now. She had become dependent on others to save her. She had wished for Kaien to come help her, even if Renji wasn't a terrible threat to her. She silently thanked Ichigo in her mind when she had calmed down before climbing up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Ichigo walked up to his group to see Grimmjow was absent. The other two were staring at him, Renji giving him a cold glare.<p>

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He looked at Chad hoping he would give him some insight into the current situation.

"What the hell was that for man? I was talking to that Kuchiki girl. You didn't have to interrupt." Renji scowled at him before turning his head to look at the sky.

"I thought you said you wouldn't bother her. I was just making sure you weren't." Ichigo said cooly. He sat down near Chad and they nodded towards each other, acknowledging each other's presence.

"What are you? Her bodyguard? I can damn well do what I please!" Renji snapped at him before getting up and leaving. Ichigo knew that he probably hurt Renji's pride by stopping him from pursuing Rukia but when it came to the new girl, he felt the need to keep Renji in check.

"Why _did_ you stop Renji from asking her out?" Chad spoke after a few minutes of silence.

"To be honest, I don't really know. A part of me just feels like I need to protect her even though I hardly know her. I don't know why." Ichigo didn't realize this was how he really felt about the situation until he verbalized it to the quiet man. He had always felt comfortable being completely honest with Chad because Ichigo knew he would never question him.

Chad just nodded and continued eating his lunch. Ichigo's eyes strayed to the bench Rukia had sat at the previous day and he almost wished Chad hadn't asked his former friends to include her in the group.

"Do you want to go the roof since Grimmjow and Renji aren't eating with us?" Chad asked him after following his line of sight. He didn't directly ask him about Rukia, but he figured Ichigo probably wanted to see her.

Flustered by the question Ichigo just looked away from the bench and stared at the sky. Chad then stood up and looked at Ichigo.

"Well, I am going whether you are or not. I haven't had lunch with them in a while."

Ichigo watched Chad slowly walk away and started contemplating the consequences of him going as well. _Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. I really haven't spent time with them in a long time. _With that, he got up and dusted his jeans and walked in the same direction as Chad.

When they both got upstairs, they felt everyone's eyes bore into them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tatsuki's eyes narrowed at them as they interrupted the group's conversation.

Chad walked up to the group and sat down. He removed his lunch from his bag and started eating it. Ichigo chuckled to himself seeing Chad's "response". The rest of the group stared at Chad before looking up at Ichigo.

"I hope you aren't expecting a special invitation to join us or something Kurosaki." Ishida said as he pushed his glasses into place.

The rest of the group smiled at Ichigo as he walked towards them. He sat down between Orihime and Rukia since Orihime shifted to leave him some space. His eyes automatically went to Rukia's face. She hadn't turned towards him upon his arrival and she was still staring down at the food in her lap.

"Ichigo and Chad finally want to eat with us! They like us again!" Keigo started to flail his arms and had streams of tears streak his cheeks in happiness. Everyone else just laughed at the boy's comical outburst.

"Rukia-san would you like to try some of my food today?" Orihime offered, noticing the girl's quiet demeanor. Rukia kept her head down with her bangs covering her eyes. She didn't move or acknowledge Orihime. Ichigo was still looking at the girl before he decided to intervene. He jabbed her arm with his elbow.

"Oy midget, you planning on eating something?" Rukia looked up at him before shielding her eyes behind her bangs again.

Rukia was having a very confusing day. She was still a little shaken from the way Renji had aggressively cornered her. She told herself to just quietly enjoy everyone's company till she got over the shock of everything that happened.

She took out her lunch to find a neatly packed sandwich and a juice box. She tried poking a hole in the juice box but couldn't open it. She kept at it for what seemed like hours in her mind before Ichigo grabbed the box and straw from her hands. He smoothly stuck the straw through the foil and handed it back to Rukia without making eye contact. The rest of the group noticed this tiny interaction but continued their conversation as though it hadn't happened.

"So is this a one-time deal or are you guys going to be eating with us from here on?" Tatsuki asked Ichigo and Chad. The question caused everyone to stop talking and stare at the two boys.

"I don't know." Ichigo said looking down at his food. "It's probably just for today."

He had started to remember what it used to be like with his old friends as he sat there. He smiled at them when Keigo made a fool of himself or Mizuiro casually insulted Keigo but he started remembering his mother as he sat there. He remembered how he used to smile all the time while she was still alive. He remembered how all of his friends had met his mother at one point and she had welcomed them all in with open arms.

He quickly finished his lunch and wordlessly walked away from the group. Rukia looked up to see everyone's expression had softened and they were silently eating the food.

"Ichigo used to be friends with all of you?" She asked cautiously.

"Yeah. We were all pretty close until his mother died." Ishida told her, since nobody else felt comfortable bringing up the topic. Ishida filled her in on how they had been and what had happened causing Ichigo to change so much. "Listen, don't tell him that we told you this ok? He is a little sensitive when it comes to his mother."

Rukia nodded at them and when the bell rang, they all left for their classes. _So he used to be nicer. I guess it's obvious that he changed. He did lose his mother. _She was reminded of how her personality had changed after Kaien's death. When he was still a part of her life, even with her bleak situation, she had always kept her fighting spirit. She had tried to stay positive and argue with Kaien about even the smallest thing. When he died, she became more reserved and more afraid of everything around her. She shook her head and cleared her head of thoughts of the raven headed man who had once stolen her heart.

* * *

><p>When they were at their last class, Ichigo had successfully ignored Rukia for most of the day. He saw the girl sitting quietly next to him. She had tried to talk to him in the beginning of the day but after lunch she didn't bother talking to him. <em>Maybe she decided to ignore me too.<em> This thought however upset Ichigo much to his dismay. When the class ended Rukia quickly slipped a note on Ichigo's desk and walked away. Ichigo took the crumpled note and smoothed it out.

_Taking the limo home. I will wait at the end of the block for five minutes if you want a ride. Otherwise, see you at home. _

Ichigo was surprised by her friendly gesture considering how poorly he had treated her that day. He thought about just walking to her place but since he wasn't getting paid to tutor her he decided that he may as well get to ride in a limo. He quickly scampered out of the class and jogged out of the school before anyone could catch him or wonder where he was off to.

When he got to the location Rukia had told him, he spotted a sleek back limo. He casually walked up to it, masking his awe at the car and knocked on the window twice. Rukia opened the door for him and he quickly got in after looking around to make sure no one saw him.

"Thanks for the ride." He said, panting a little from the jog. Rukia was looking away from him, staring at the scenery outside her window. She was still mad at him for ignoring her all day along with her added irritation from her pathetic behavior with Renji.

"Are you not planning on talking to me midget?" He felt the need to talk to her considering she was driving him back. He cocked his head to look at her but she turned away some more. "Fine. But it's going to be really hard to tutor you if you won't speak to me."

"That's not my problem now is it?" Rukia snapped at him. She knew she was taking out all her frustration out on him but she didn't really care at that point. "Besides it's not like you wanted to speak to me today anyway."

"Look, I just need to help you afterschool. I don't have to be your friend during school hours ok?" He said coolly. Rukia immediately pressed a button near her seat and the limo stopped.

"Get out." She said with a dangerously low voice.

"What?"

"I don't have to be nice to you till I get to my house. So get out of the car." She said more firmly this time.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, staring at her like she was crazy before opening the door and getting out. Once he shut the door, the limo immediately sped away. Ichigo kicked the ground and cursed her.

"Stupid midget!"

Rukia had kept her window open a bit and heard his curses, causing her to chuckle a little inwardly with the satisfaction that she had at least managed to yell at someone right.

Ichigo jogged to the house so that she doesn't add tardiness to the report. When he got there, he pressed the intercom asking to be let in.

"Why should I let you in?" He heard her voice on the other end. He could practically hear a sadistic smile in her voice.

"Because you would fail school without me?" He questioned light-heartedly. He was actually quite pissed at her but the moment he heard her voice, he felt a lot of his anger dissipate.

"Hardly. I am a lot smarter than you give me credit for. So again Kurosaki, why should I let you in?"

He knew what kind of answer she was expecting. _She is getting cocky that she is holding my academic record in her hands_.

"Because I will get in trouble if you don't." He said quietly. He didn't like asking for help but in this case, he needed it.

"Now that wasn't too hard was it?" With that, she opened the gate. _It was incredibly hard._ He thought bitterly. Ichigo was still caught up in the grandeur of the home, even though he had been there once before.

He quickly went into the house and the maid instructed him to go to the study. He saw Rukia sitting there with a juice box in her hands and another juice box sat in the seat he had taken the previous day. He picked up the juice box and placed it on the table and took out his books from his backpack. As he bent down, his eyes immediately went to her face which was turned away as she enjoyed her juice. When she turned towards him, he quickly averted his eyes, seriously looking through his backpack.

"What do you want to catch up on today?" He asked, still looking down.

"Why did you have to ignore me in school? I am not asking you to be my friend, but you could at least acknowledge my presence." She asked again carefully. She didn't want him to know how hurt she had been by his behavior.

"I told you. I don't make friends. I didn't want you to get the impression that we were becoming friends or something." He told her with a tone he didn't quite understand. _Was that regret?_ He asked himself.

"Ok. You are right. I probably shouldn't associate with the likes of you anyway. We will just be strictly professional. You will come to my house, no more than half an hour after school gets out. Do not acknowledge me at school and I won't either. We will speak of nothing other than what I need to learn. Deal?" Rukia held her hand out to him, signifying that she wanted to make it official. It saddened her that he had to be so closed off to her but she also didn't need to get close to Kaien's look-alike._ It's probably for the best anyway._

"I didn't say it had to be _that_ professional." Ichigo mumbled. He knew what she was offering was probably for the best but he couldn't shake the feeling that every cell in his body was drawing him closer to her.

"I am confused then Ichigo." She pronounced each syllable of his name deliberately. "What exactly do you want? I can't really figure out your random mood swings. Yesterday you talked to me. You made fun of me and you argued with me. I didn't start it. Today, I figured you would be the same, but you chose to ignore me. Would you make up your mind?"

Ichigo looked down at his books. Why was this girl making him feel guilty for the way he had been acting with everyone else? He never felt this with other people. Even those he had once called his best friends. With Rukia, he felt like he needed to justify himself for all his actions and he didn't understand why.

"Let's just focus on studying for now k?" He said, trying to change the subject.

"Fine"

After several minutes of complete silence as they worked, Ichigo asked her something that surprised her.

"So are you really going to Tatsuki's party?" He never took his eyes off his books. It just slipped out. He hadn't planned on asking her, even though it kept running through his head. He wasn't planning on going himself but when Orihime had invited her, a part of him told him he should go too.

Rukia gaped at him, with her mouth slightly open. _What is with this guy? _She quickly kicked him on his shin.

"Ow Midget! What was that for?"

"We don't make unnecessary small talk as per my deal. You haven't said otherwise so I am sticking to it." Rukia stuck her tongue out at him and stuck the straw from her juice box in her mouth, triumphantly drinking her juice.

Ichigo rubbed his shin and stared at the smirking girl. _I do not let anyone get the upper hand!_ He grabbed the juice box and drank the rest of her juice in one quick swig.

"Suck on that!" He laughed a little as he saw her eyes first widen in surprise and then narrow in anger.

"You baka! I like that juice." She pouted at first but then realized he had basically just declared war. She already let one guy mistreat her today, she wasn't backing down today. She started slapping his arm as he kept trying to stop each blow.

"Well if you didn't kick me I wouldn't have drank it midget."

"Stop calling me midget strawberry!"

"Stop calling me strawberry MIDGET" He yelled out his nickname for her, causing her to try even harder to whack him with enough strength that he would feel just a little bit of pain.

They both were playing a dangerous game where Rukia continued to assault Ichigo and Ichigo kept blocking, all the while making faces at her, causing her anger to increase. They hadn't even realized that they had at one point stood up and the scuffle was getting a little more heated. Ichigo was not only blocking her but bringing her in closer without his own knowledge. But then again, that was his fighting style. _Always bait your opponent and then strike,_ he told himself. Rukia continued until she noticed she was cornering him, when she decided she finally might have an advantage. When he walked into the corner of the study as she had expected, she struck as hard as she could, only to have him catch both her arms in his hands. His amber eyes gazed at her purple ones with great intensity. Even in their current position, they both had huge grins on their faces and they both didn't know why.

"That was hardly a fair fight. Rukia you should get a little better." The silence between them was cut with a stoic voice.

They both turned to see Byakuya standing in the doorway to the study. Immediately Rukia wriggled her arms out of Ichigo's hands and smoothened out her clothes before running towards Byakuya. Ichigo stayed in place for a few seconds, missing how her arms felt in his grasp before he walked toward his seat.

"I might have a proposition for you boy. Come to my office after your _actual_ duties are done." Byakuya gracefully turned on his heels and was gone in a flash. Rukia took her seat again near Ichigo and looked at her books.

"I'm sorry if I hit you too much or too hard or anything. I don't know what came over me." She had a mournful tone in her voice.

"Che…like you could actually hurt me." He looked away from her. His left arm was actually a little sore from all the punches he had let slip through but he didn't really care.

"I think I am going. If Nii-sama would let me." Rukia piped up, still looking at her books intently.

"Going where?" He looked down at her confused about what she was talking about. She hadn't transitioned in any way to her current topic.

"Tatsuki's birthday party." She glanced up to see him staring at her and their eyes locked again. _He looks nothing like Kaien from up close_.

"Good to know." He paused and then said something he wasn't expecting himself to say. "I don't want your deal. I did act a little selfishly today. I am not saying we need to be friends, but I won't ignore you at school anymore." He didn't understand why he couldn't just ignore this girl like he had his other friends. _There is no point in ignoring the fact that no matter what I try to do, I still have to come tutor her. Maybe after that I can cut off ties. _

Rukia's eyes widened at how softly he spoke and wondered if this was how he used to be before his mother died. She noticed a sudden tiredness in his eyes, almost like he looked defeated.

"Arigatou."

* * *

><p>Ichigo walked behind Rukia quietly as she showed him to Byakuya's office. He knew if he tried to go himself, he would probably get lost in the mansion. When they got to the door, Rukia looked at him reassuringly before leaving him alone. Ichigo rapped on the door slightly and called out a hello before he heard Byakuya's voice ask him to enter.<p>

"Kurosaki Ichigo, it is customary in this house and simply polite to knock and say excuse me, _may_ I come in instead of your 'hello'." Ichigo looked at the man sheepishly as he found fault in his entry. _Great start Ichigo._

"_May_ I know what this is about? You said you had a proposition" He asked, slightly sarcastically.

Byakuya opened a folder on his desk. He scanned through it before picking out certain parts that he wanted to read out loud.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, has been among the top ten ranks in his school since kindergarten. Has never been seen smoking or drinking alcohol. Has not been reported to have had a girlfriend. Has two younger sisters. Mother died a year ago."

"What is this? Did you have someone look me up?" Ichigo was irritated with the way this man was just spouting things about him.

Byakuya remained unfazed by his questioning "Well, what's this here? Gotten in several fights in the past year however was not charged for any of them. Part of a group of which one member had potential links to gang related activities. Disciplinary action has been taken several times by school officials. This isn't looking too good for you."

"Where did you get this?" Ichigo figured there was some information about his detentions on file but didn't realize anyone had any record of his activities outside of school. While he had been getting into fights and such, he had made sure he cleared the scene before anyone ever knew he was involved.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, this is just a background check I asked to be run. And already so much has been found. If potential colleges or jobs got this in their hands, it's not going to look very good is it?"

Ichigo was a little shocked that Byakuya seemed to say exactly what was on his mind. He didn't quite know what it is that Byakuya wanted from him and why he would bring all this up.

"I guess not. Why are you telling me this?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the stoic man. Byakuya closed the folder and leaned forward before motioning for Ichigo to sit down. Ichigo didn't want to disobey the man who held such sensitive material about him in his hands.

"Well, like I said. I have a proposition. Rukia is now a Kuchiki and while I have made sure to keep this under wraps with the press and anyone else, when word gets out, she could potentially be in danger. I obviously will always have bodyguards with her but she can't always have someone with her, she's a runner." Byakuya paused for a second. "So, I want her to be able to defend herself. I have tried several different instructors, masters and I have tried to teach her myself but she just isn't comfortable with anyone."

Ichigo quickly caught on to where Byakuya was going with this proposition.

"You want me to teach her how to fight?" He asked curiously.

"She just seemed very comfortable with you today. I could be completely off base but it looked like she was actually trying today as opposed to what I have seen before, which is why I wanted to ask you to teach her how to fight."

Ichigo remembered back to about an hour ago when they had sparred a little. He knew Byakuya was only looking at Rukia, but Ichigo had also felt a sense of familiarity and comfort in defending himself from the girl.

"You said this was a proposition. What am I getting in return?"

"Well, I will completely erase all existence of those splotches in your file. You obviously will have to train her seriously. This deal will also be valid even if she refuses, but do not take that lightly. You will need to try your hardest to convince her to train with you and if you still fail, I will count your work as complete. However, it would be very useful if you would train her to be able to fight." Byakuya looked away from Ichigo and stared out the window.

Ichigo knew he was getting a really good deal from Byakuya. However he couldn't help but feel as though there were other reasons why Byakuya wanted Rukia to learn.

"Fine. I will do it. But I can't every day. I will try to work up a schedule." Byakuya looked at the boy without any expression on his face, even though Ichigo had approved of his deal.

"I will need you to sign this contract saying that you agree to the terms of our deal." Byakuya handed Ichigo a two page paper with tiny print explicitly stating the rules.

"Wow you really do not take chances do you?" Ichigo took the papers, carefully read through it and signed it at the bottom.

"By the way, I know she looks small and fragile, but she had a really mean right hook." Ichigo grinned at Byakuya as he complimented the short girl before leaving the room.

* * *

><p>AN: Another day in the lives of Ichigo and Rukia, finished. Grimmjow will be back soon, I promise. He just had some things to take care of, namely me ;) I feel that Rukia finally started showing her real self in the end of this chapter...I hate her being weak but it just made more sense for her to be so in this story. And to Renji fans, I know he seems kinda...well not nice in this chapter, but maybe he will get better ;)

Thank you LeftHRyder, Mari Kia Resha Aishiteru, xwhitemoonx, NORA, Kurosaki Anne, Poisonfish, ashezo and blissbeat for the reviews and thanks to all those who added this story as a favorite and subscribed to it.


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